HEADLINES

Saints Waive WR Brandin Cooks

November 19th, 2025 at 10:30pm CST by Connor Byrne

Well-traveled wide receiver Brandin Cooks could land with another team in the coming days. The Saints and Cooks mutually agreed to part ways on Wednesday, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports. Cooks will be free to sign anywhere if he goes through waivers unclaimed.

The move to cut Cooks came after he renegotiated his contract down, according to Underhill. He had a little over $2MM in guarantees left, including a 2026 salary of approximately $1.7MM, NewOrleans.Football colleague Mike Triplett notes.

Now 32 years old, Cooks entered the NFL as a first-round pick of the Saints in 2014. After spending his first three years in New Orleans, he divided the next eight among the Patriots, Rams, Texans, and Cowboys. Cooks returned to the Saints on a two-year, $13MM pact last March.

With the Saints well out of contention, Cooks’ name came up in the rumor mill ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline. A trade involving Cooks would have been his fifth. That would have set a new NFL record, but the Saints didn’t find a taker. However, one could emerge now that adding Cooks won’t require surrendering draft compensation.

The Bills, Broncos, and Steelers are among contenders that were looking for receivers before the deadline. None of those teams acquired one, which could make any of them logical landing spots for Cooks. It’s worth pointing out that Cooks began his career under Broncos head coach Sean Payton, then with the Saints.

Whether it’s Denver or another club, Cooks’ next employer will be picking up someone who has recorded 729 catches, 9,697 yards, and 60 touchdowns in 168 career regular-season games. While that’s excellent production, Cooks’ output has experienced a dramatic decline over the past couple of years.

Cooks caught 26 of 54 targets for 259 yards and three TDs in 10 games with the Cowboys last season. In his reunion with the Saints this year, Cooks grabbed 19 of 25 targets for just 165 yards and no scores. Cooks played 34 offensive snaps in a win over Carolina in Week 10, which proved to be his final game with the Saints, but rookie quarterback Tyler Shough didn’t target him.

Now that he’s leaving New Orleans, there’s a good chance Cooks will enter into a better QB situation than he had with the Saints this year or the Cowboys in 2024. Before working with the inexperienced duo of Shough and Spencer Rattler in New Orleans, Cooks mostly teamed with Cowboys backup Cooper Rush last season. He hasn’t paired with an above-average QB since Dak Prescott suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in Week 9 of 2024.

For their part, the Saints have now subtracted a pair of notable veteran receivers this month. Cooks is following Rashid Shaheed, whom the Saints traded to the Seahawks, out the door. Chris Olave, Devaughn Vele, and Mason Tipton are the only WRs left on the Saints’ active roster.

Browns’ Shedeur Sanders To Start In Week 12

November 19th, 2025 at 10:29pm CST by Connor Byrne

With Dillon Gabriel in concussion protocol, the 2-8 Browns will turn to their third starting quarterback of the season in Week 12. Fifth-round rookie Shedeur Sanders will get the nod against the Raiders on Sunday, head coach Kevin Stefanski announced.

Gabriel suffered his injury in last Sunday’s loss to the Ravens, paving the way for Sanders’ NFL debut. He completed 4 of 16 passes for 47 yards and an interception in relief of Gabriel, a third-round rookie who has struggled mightily since taking over in Week 5.

The Browns named Gabriel their starter after trading Joe Flacco to the Bengals on Oct. 7. The left-hander has tossed seven touchdowns against two interceptions in eight games, but he has posted a subpar 59.2 completion percentage and an 80.8 passer rating. His 30.9 QBR ranks 32nd in the NFL.

Stefanski said Gabriel’s health is “improving,” but not quickly enough for him to play against another 2-8 team this weekend. Sanders will get all the first-team reps in practice this week, per Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. That should give Sanders a better chance to succeed than he had when he came off the bench in Week 11.

There may not have been a more polarizing prospect in last spring’s draft than Sanders. Many expected him to go in the first round, but the former Colorado standout fell all the way to pick 144. Even though the Browns took Gabriel two rounds earlier, they couldn’t pass on Sanders’ value in Round 5. They traded up for the 2024 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, which came after some teams reportedly removed Sanders from their draft boards. Various clubs had concerns that Sanders didn’t take his pre-draft interviews seriously, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote in May.

While the Ravens were prepared to use the 141st pick on Sanders, he was reportedly uninterested in joining a team with an established QB. AFC North rival Cleveland presented a clearer path to playing time than Baltimore, which has two-time MVP Lamar Jackson entrenched as its signal-caller.

Sanders will now have at least one week to make his case to serve as the Browns’ starter for the rest of the season. Poised to finish near the bottom of the league standings for the second straight year, the Browns will enter the draft armed with two first-round selections (one acquired from Jacksonville). If the Browns aren’t convinced they have the answer in Gabriel, Sanders, or the injured Deshaun Watson when April rolls around, they could use a high pick on a QB.

Cardinals To Stick With GM Monti Ossenfort, HC Jonathan Gannon?

November 19th, 2025 at 10:20pm CST by Connor Byrne

At 3-7, the Cardinals are headed for a last-place finish in the NFC West. Odds are they’ll miss the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. There may be questions about the job security of general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon in the coming weeks as a result.

The Cardinals hired Ossenfort, previously a Titans executive, in January 2023. He picked Gannon, formerly the Eagles’ defensive coordinator, a month later. Arizona has gone a woeful 15-29 in two-plus seasons under its current regime.

Considering the team’s lack of progress, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler writes that “opinions are split on whether Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill will take action.” ESPN colleague Dan Graziano expects Ossenfort and Gannon to remain in place, though.

Both Fowler and Graziano note that the Cardinals haven’t been in position to draft a franchise QB under Ossenfort and Gannon. Bidwill could give them the opportunity to do so in April.

The Cardinals’ present leadership inherited former No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray when they arrived in Arizona. However, Murray’s time in the desert could soon run out. Statistically, the seventh-year man has endured an up-and-down career with the Cardinals. From a team standpoint, the Cardinals’ lone playoff appearance under Murray yielded disastrous results in a wild-card round loss to the Rams in January 2022. The Cardinals have finished below .500 in every season since then.

A season after helping the Cardinals to the playoffs, Murray tore his ACL in Week 14 of the 2022 campaign. The recovery process limited him to eight games in 2023. Murray bounced back to play his first 17-game slate last season, but a mid-foot sprain has held him to five appearances this year. Murray has been on IR since Nov. 5. He won’t play again until Week 14 at the earliest.

With veteran backup Jacoby Brissett performing well in Murray’s place, it’s reportedly possible the latter has played his last snap with the Cardinals. Murray is still on the five-year, $230.5MM deal Arizona gave him in 2022, and he’s guaranteed $36.8MM in 2026. His $19.5MM salary for 2027 will vest on March 22, 2026. The Cardinals could trade or release Murray before then, which would enable them to escape that portion of the 28-year-old’s contract.

If the Cardinals move on from Murray ahead of next year’s draft, it would enable Ossenfort and Gannon to devote their attention to selecting his successor. Clayton Tune, a 2023 fifth-rounder who’s now with the Packers, is the only QB the Cardinals have drafted since they brought in Ossenfort and Gannon. Assuming those two stay in place, that figures to change next spring.

Commanders Could Shut Down QB Jayden Daniels For Season

November 19th, 2025 at 10:05pm CST by Ely Allen

Ten months ago, the Commanders were celebrating an upset win over the Lions in the Divisional Round of the playoffs and preparing to face the Eagles for a chance at a Super Bowl berth all on the arm and legs of a rookie quarterback. Fast forward to today, and Washington’s season has gone anything but according to plan. As second-year passer Jayden Daniels continues to work his way back from his third injury of the season, the surprising position the team finds themselves in could dictate the grounds for his return.

A week ago, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN passed on rumors that the Commanders were preparing for a potential five- to six-week absence for Daniels, despite other reports estimating a mere three weeks of recovery. The potential for a longer than expected recovery combined with a loss to the Dolphins in Madrid had Fowler speculating about a situation in which Daniels doesn’t play again this year.

A week later, that loss to Miami has actualized, and Washington, as a result, now faces a week of reflection and decision-making. Fellow ESPN reporter Dan Graziano noted today that the Commanders will take this Week 12 bye week to “examine everything” and acknowledged that “external debates” have taken place concerning the reasonableness of Daniels not returning this year, but ultimately, he asserted that he’s been told “the plan in Washington is still that Daniels will return to the starting lineup once doctors clear him from his elbow injury.”

While Fowler didn’t dispel the notion of that being the Commanders’ plan, he maintained that his sources have Daniels possibly being back for Week 13, though “the team has loosely braced for an absence of five to six weeks, just in case.” No teams have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs yet, but if this turns into a six-week absence and the team’s six-game losing streak continues, Washington could find itself well out of playoff contention with three games left on the schedule against division-rivals who could be playing for postseason positioning.

If the Commanders are sitting at 3-11 with games left against the Eagles, Cowboys, and Eagles, again, sending Daniels out with nothing on the line feels borderline irresponsible. Considering that Daniels has sustained three different injuries this year, testing his durability with nothing to play for could obviously do more harm than good. Graziano, though, points out that Daniels is likely advocating to get back on the field and, because this latest injury was not related to his legs or his throwing arm, the team may not be as cautious with their approach to his return.

They’ll have the rest of the week to consider all of this before they have to start game-planning for a Week 13 game against the Broncos. If Daniels is good to for the matchup with Denver, the chances of reinjury may be a bit higher against a defense that has a 15-sack lead on the second-best sack-getting team in the NFL.

Bengals QB Joe Burrow A ‘Full Participant’ At Practice

November 19th, 2025 at 8:48pm CST by Ely Allen

The Bengals designated star quarterback Joe Burrow to return from injured reserve last Monday, opening up his 21-day practice window. That was nine days ago, so the team has 12 days to determine whether or not he will be activated this season. Things could be looking pretty good on that front, as Burrow appeared as a full participant on Cincinnati’s injury report today.

In his first week back at practice, Burrow was able to participate in some noncontact 7-on-7 work and was still feeling good after getting back in the action. At the 7-day mark, head coach Zac Taylor laid out their goals for moving forward.

“This week, the plan will be: let’s get to Wednesday and see if we can work him in some 11-on-11 and go from there,” Taylor told the media, per Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer. “Before we ever do that, there’s no reason to have a discussion on what the timeline is beyond that, because there are steps we have to follow.”

Two days later, Burrow did his assigned 11-on-11 work as a full participant in practice today. Burrow’s return to practice surprisingly hasn’t limited the team’s access to backup passer Joe Flacco, who’s still expected to start for Cincinnati against the Patriots this weekend. Flacco has been dealing with a right shoulder injury since Week 9. In every week that they’ve had a Sunday game since, Flacco has sat out Wednesday practice, been a limited participant in practice on Thursday, and sat out again on Friday before doing walkthroughs leading up to the game.

So, Burrow got the ball today as Flacco sat out per usual. Tomorrow is usually a limited day for Flacco, but the Bengals will obviously want him to get time with the first-team offense if he’ll be starting this week. Burrow still could get good amount of time with the first string if Flacco is limited as usual. Taylor wanted to get his star passer back in 11-on-11, and it looks like we’re getting more of that this week. Asked whether Burrow could start this weekend’s matchup with New England, Taylor replied, “Until we get through some practices, there’s no reason for me to even speculate on that.”

We already know that team and player both intend for Burrow to return despite the team’s long odds on a postseason berth, as long as he’s ready. With that in mind, this weekend’s game could be Flacco’s final start in front of the Cincinnati crowd. Following this weekend, Flacco should get another matchup against the team that drafted him — this time in a different shade of orange — before another road game takes the team to Buffalo.

The game against the Bills has been deemed the likeliest time for Burrow’s return, but there’s still a chance — slim as it may be — that he could get activated in time to go head-to-head against Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Jackson again in three straight weeks. There’s also a chance the team activates him but slow plays his return until they’re sure he’s ready to go. For now, though, Burrow continues to make insane progress in his return from an injury that many expected would end his season.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/19/25

November 19th, 2025 at 7:13pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/19/25

November 19th, 2025 at 6:45pm CST by Ely Allen

Wednesday’s minor moves:

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Designated for return from reserve/PUP: RB Eric Gray

Pittsburgh Steelers

21 days have gone by since the Steelers opened Trice’s practice window. They’ve made the decision not to activate him from injured reserve, so he will remain on IR without the possibility of being activated.

Gray has been on New York’s physically unable to perform list since they set their initial 53-man roster. With rookie running back Cam Skattebo hitting IR earlier in the season, Gray’s return could add some needed depth at the position.

Seahawks DT Johnathan Hankins Will Not Play In 2025

November 19th, 2025 at 5:38pm CST by Adam La Rose

Johnathan Hankins was a regular for the Seahawks last season. The veteran defensive tackle will not see any time on the field for Seattle in 2025, however.

A back injury suffered in the offseason landed Hankins on the reserve/NFI list during roster cutdowns. An absence of at least four games was ensured by the move, but the 33-year-old has yet to play in 2025. Head coach Mike Macdonald said on Wednesday (via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times) a return for the closing stages of the campaign will not take place.

In 2024, Hankins made eight starts and handled a defensive snap share of 35%. The former second-rounder totaled 30 tackles, one sack and the first interception of his career during his debut Seahawks season. A similar showing this time around would have been expected, but instead Seattle will remain shorthanded up front the rest of the way. The team ranks sixth in the NFL against the run, so Hankins’ absence has not proven to be too much of an issue so far.

Hankins has played on one-year pacts dating back to 2021. A veteran of five NFL teams, the Ohio State product landed $2.05MM on his first Seahawks contract. He re-signed in April, securing a slight raise in terms of overall value ($2.12MM) and guarantees ($350K). Needless to say, another one-year contract will await Hankins when his next gig is in place.

Seattle was among the teams to add at the trade deadline by acquiring wideout Rashid Shaheed from the Saints. No moves were made along the defensive line, though. With it now known Hankins will not return at any point this year, the Seahawks could look to make a depth addition up front via the free agent market. The team currently has $17.59MM in cap space.

Bengals Designate Mike Gesicki For Return

November 19th, 2025 at 5:12pm CST by Connor Byrne

The Bengals announced that they have designated tight end Mike Gesicki to return from IR. The team also opened safety Daijahn Anthony‘s practice window. The Bengals will have 21 days to activate both players.

There’s a chance Cincinnati will get Gesicki back as early as this Sunday against New England. Head coach Zac Taylor said Gesicki is “ready to hit the ground running” after missing four games with a pectoral injury (via Ben Baby of ESPN).

Gesicki began his career with the Dolphins and spent 2023 with the Patriots before joining the Bengals. They inked him to a one-year, $3.25MM deal heading into 2024. It proved to be a shrewd investment, as Gesicki caught 65 passes for 665 yards and two touchdowns during a 17-game season.

The Bengals were impressed enough with Gesicki’s 2024 output to give him a raise. They re-signed the 6-foot-6, 245-pounder to a three-year, $25.5MM pact last March.

Before going on IR, Gesicki was unable to approach last year’s production. He opened this season catching just eight of 16 targets for 61 yards in six games, though Gesicki barely worked with Joe Burrow during that stretch. The franchise quarterback suffered a toe injury in Week 2 and hasn’t returned yet, but he’s likely to come back in the next couple of weeks.

Gesicki has also barely played with the Bengals’ current starting QB, Joe Flacco, who debuted with the team the week the tight end sustained his injury. If Gesicki takes the field this week, he’ll provide Flacco another target with No. 1 wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase serving a one-game suspension.

The Bengals haven’t gotten what they expected from Gesicki this year, but fellow tight end Noah Fant has performed well. The late-July free agent signing has secured 30 of 34 targets for 256 yards and three TDs. Gesicki will rejoin Fant and blocking specialist Drew Sample as Cincinnati’s top three TEs when the team activates him.

Anthony, a seventh-round pick in 2024, appeared in 13 games as a rookie. Almost all of his snaps (168 of 179) came on special teams. The Bengals placed him on IR with a return designation when they made their final cuts on Aug. 26. Anthony’s hamstring injury wasn’t expected to shelve him for long, but the 25-year-old has missed all 10 of the Bengals’ games so far.

49ers Sign K Matt Gay

November 19th, 2025 at 4:56pm CST by Adam La Rose

Eddy Pineiro has handled kicking duties in the wake of the 49ers moving on from Jake Moody early in the season. Another contributor in that regard will be needed for at least one week.

Pineiro is dealing with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, head coach Kyle Shanahan said (via Matt Barrows of The Athletic). He is week-to-week as a result. In response, the 49ers have hosted a total of five free agent kickers in recent days. A replacement has been found from that group.

Matt Gay has agreed to a deal with San Francisco, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo report. This news comes days after Gay’s tenure with the Commanders came to an end. The veteran continued to have struggles from long range on field goal attempts, but he will look to rebound during a brief stint in the Bay Area. The move is now official, with Gay joining the 49ers’ practice squad and receiver Russell Gage being released in a corresponding move.

Per the transactions wire (h/t Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle), Gay was joined by Cade York, John Parker Romo, Anders Carlson and Tanner Brown in taking part in a workout with the 49ers in recent days. The team has elected to go with experience after completing that process. Gay has made 100 career regular season appearances. During that time, he has delivered consistent performances from within 50 yards and on extra point attempts.

The 31-year-old has connected on just seven of his 18 field goal tries from beyond 50 yards dating back to last season, however. Struggles in that regard led to Washington cutting ties (and signing Moody as a replacement). While the 49ers’ former draftee will look to carve out a spot in the nation’s capital for the remainder of the campaign, Gay will aim to serve as a short-term replacement for San Francisco.

Pineiro has played in 10 games for the 49ers. Over that span, he has missed four extra point kicks but gone 22-for-22 on field goals. That includes connecting on each of his six FG attempts from 50-plus yards. Pineiro will thus likely reprise his kicking role once he is healthy. In the meantime, Gay will serve as his replacement.

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