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Cardinals Release Punter Pat O’Donnell

November 18th, 2025 at 4:55pm CST by Connor Byrne

The Cardinals will need to find a new punter before they face the Jaguars on Sunday. The team released Pat O’Donnell on Tuesday, per Zach Gershman of the team’s website.

O’Donnell was the second punter of the year for Arizona, which placed starter Blake Gillikin on IR with a back injury on Oct. 11. The Cardinals brought in O’Donnell as a result. Gillikin is is still on the shelf a little over a month later, leaving the Cardinals to look outside the organization for their next punter.

In five games with the Cardinals, O’Donnell punted 12 times and averaged 42.2 yards per try with a net of 36.2. He checked in well below the 2025 league averages of 47.7 and 41.2, respectively. Also a former Bear, Packer, and 49er, the 34-year-old has posted a 45.0-yard average and a 39.2 net since he made his NFL debut in 2014.

Along with the O’Donnell move, the Cardinals cut linebacker Jared Bartlett from their active roster on Tuesday. The team also released defensive lineman Anthony Goodlow from its practice squad.

Bartlett worked exclusively on special teams in his two games with the Cardinals this year. Goodlow has made three appearances in 2025 and totaled three tackles on 36 defensive snaps.

Lions Activate LB Malcolm Rodriguez From PUP List

November 18th, 2025 at 4:23pm CST by Connor Byrne

The Lions have activated linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez from the reserve/physically unable to perform list, per a team announcement. Rodriguez is now eligible to make his season debut on Sunday against the Giants.

Rodriguez is returning a little less than a year after he tore his ACL in a Week 13 win over the Bears last Thanksgiving. The Lions opened Rodriguez’s 21-day practice window on Oct. 27. The belief then was that the 26-year-old would need the full three weeks before the Lions activated him, and that proved to be the case.

A sixth-round pick from Oklahoma State in 2022, Rodriguez started in 15 of 16 appearances as a rookie. He recorded 87 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble that year, though it wasn’t enough to hold a full-time starting job.

Rodriguez came off the bench in 18 of 27 appearances from 2023-24. He picked up a career-high two sacks in 10 games last season.

Rejoining a 6-4 Detroit team that’s pushing for a playoff spot, Rodriguez will once again work as a defensive reserve and a special teamer. The Lions are in enviable shape at linebacker with Jack Campbell, Alex Anzalone, and Derrick Barnes as their top three. Campbell, Anzalone, and Barnes have each played over 90% of defensive snaps this year. Rodriguez’s return will give the Lions some quality depth behind them.

Rams To Sign LB Jesse Luketa

November 18th, 2025 at 11:16am CST by Adam La Rose

Jesse Luketa has yet to play in 2025. That situation is set to change shortly, however, as the fourth-year linebacker has a deal in place.

Luketa is set to sign with the Rams today, veteran insider Jordan Schultz reports. A thigh injury ended his 2024 campaign and with it his tenure with the Cardinals. The former seventh-rounder is now healthy, though, and he will look to establish a role for himself in Los Angeles down the stretch.

The 26-year-old Canadian made 31 appearances and three starts across his time with Arizona. Luketa primarily operated on special teams during that time, but he saw an increase in defensive workload with each passing season. In 2024, the Penn State product set a new career high in a number of categories, totaling 21 tackles and three sacks while adding one forced fumble.

At 8-2, the Rams lead the NFC West and currently occupy the conference’s No. 2 seed. Los Angeles can be considered a serious contender at this point, and adding further on defense represents a logical post-trade deadline priority. The Rams had already made a midseason move on that side of the ball by way of the Roger McCreary trade.

Los Angeles entered Tuesday with over $13MM in cap space. As a result, signing Luketa – who visited the Ravens last month – will not be a challenge, nor will it alter any other moves which may be planned over the closing stages of the regular season. It will be interesting to see how Luketa is used with his new team as he looks to boost his 2026 free agent stock.

Falcons To Designate LB Divine Deablo For Return

November 17th, 2025 at 7:30pm CST by Ben Levine

The Falcons should soon have their starting inside linebacker back in the lineup. According to Terrin Waack of the team’s website, the Falcons will be designating Divine Deablo for return from injured reserve.

Deablo last saw the field in Week 7, when he suffered a fracture in his left forearm. Head coach Raheem Morris indicated that his linebacker should be back on the field for Week 12, meaning it will only be a minimum IR stay for the starter.

A former Raiders third-round pick, Deablo joined the Falcons this offseason via a two-year, $14MM deal. He was one of the team’s most productive defenders through the first six weeks, as the acquisition collected 24 tackles and 0.5 sacks. Notably, he ranks fourth among 81 qualifiers on Pro Football Focus’ positional rankings.

With Deablo out of the lineup, the Falcons have turned to JD Bertrand and Ronnie Harrison to play opposite Kaden Elliss in the middle of their defense. Harrison has seemed to leap Bertrand in recent weeks, with the journeyman collecting 22 tackles and two sacks in his four appearances. Deablo will likely slide back into his starting spot next to Elliss, but Morris indicated that Harrison will still be in line for a role moving forward.

“We played some really good ball with JD,” Morris said (via Waack). “But Ronnie has really earned more reps and more role, and it’s kind of been increased since he’s been here. A lot of credit to Ronnie, a man that’s come here with us from training camp and really increased his role from a practice squad player to a special teams player to now being out there with that first-team defense in some situations. The way he’s playing, it’s going to do nothing else but increase.”

As Waack notes, the 3-7 Falcons have dropped each of the four games they’ve played without Deablo in the lineup. While the linebacker won’t solve all of the team’s woes, he’ll surely help his squad as they look to make a late-season push.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/17/25

November 17th, 2025 at 6:44pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Los Angeles Rams

  • Released: LB Jamil Muhammad

New England Patriots

The Patriots are shaking up their linebacker corps after Darius Harris landed on the practice squad IR today. The veteran got into three games with the big-league club in 2025, collecting four tackles while playing exclusively on special teams. Harris had a four-year stint with the Chiefs to begin his career, including a 2022 campaign where he tallied 43 tackles and 1.5 sacks. To take his place on the taxi squad, the Patriots added Otis Reese, who got his NFL start playing under Mike Vrabel in Tennessee. The Ole Miss product got into 20 games with the Titans between 2023 and 2024, collecting 38 stops.

NFL Minor Transactions: 11/17/25

November 17th, 2025 at 6:34pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Marcelino McCrary-Ball landed on injured reserve after suffering a hamstring injury in Week 3. When he returns, the defense will look a whole lot different than when he last played, and he could be in line for more responsibility with Quincy Williams facing an uncertain future with the organization. Before suffering his injury, McCrary-Ball collected 17 tackles and one forced fumble.

Cowboys Activate S Malik Hooker From IR

November 17th, 2025 at 6:00pm CST by Ben Levine

The Cowboys defense has struggled mightily in 2025, but the team will be getting some veteran reinforcement in time for Monday Night Football. According to Jon Machota of The Athletic, the team has activated safety Malik Hooker from injured reserve.

[RELATED: Cowboys Designate Malik Hooker For Return]

Hooker suffered a toe injury back in Week 4 that has shelved him for more than a month. He was designated for return from IR just last Thursday, and the Cowboys didn’t take long to add him to the active roster.

After serving in a rotational role during his first season in Dallas, Hooker has emerged as one of the team’s most dependable defenders in recent years. He missed only a pair of games between 2022 and 2024, starting 38 of his 49 appearances while hauling in six interceptions. For his efforts, Pro Football Focus graded him as an above-average safety in each of those three campaigns, including a 13th-place showing in 2022 and 14th-place finish in 2023.

After dropping down to 43rd at his position in 2024, PFR ranked Hooker only 58th among 93 qualifiers in 2025. Still, that should represent an upgrade over the revolving door of safeties the Cowboys have turned to next to Donovan Wilson, who has missed the past two contests with an elbow/shoulder issue. Juanyeh Thomas got an initial look in the starting lineup, while Markquese Bell has seen the bulk of the snaps at the position in recent weeks. Alijah Clark and Zion Childress have also gotten some run in the secondary.

To make room on the roster, the team placed rookie offensive lineman Ajani Cornelius on injured reserve. The sixth-round pick has been dealing with a knee injury that will sideline him for at least the next month. The Cowboys also promoted running back Malik Davis from the practice squad for tonight’s matchup against the Raiders.

Commanders To Sign K Jake Moody Off Bears’ Practice Squad

November 17th, 2025 at 5:17pm CST by Adam La Rose

It has not taken long for the Commanders to find their Matt Gay replacement. The veteran was cut earlier today, and his successor has already been identified.

Washington is signing Jake Moody off the Bears’ practice squad, as first reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Moody ended up making two appearances with Chicago, having signed there after his inconsistent San Francisco tenure came to an end early in the campaign. Moody’s brief stint with the Bears saw him connect on eight of his nine field goal attempts and all three of his XP tries.

The 49ers selected Moody with the 99th pick in the 2023 draft, making him the fifth kicker since 2000 to be selected in the first three rounds. The Michigan product ended up earning PFWA All-Rookie Team honors that season after he converted 84 percent of his FGA and 98.4 percent of his XPA. He also came up big in the postseason, including a Super Bowl performance where he was credited with 10 points.

He struggled a bit as a sophomore, as he made only 24 of his 34 field goal attempts. He had a particularly short leash to begin this year. In the season opener, he made only one of his three field goal attempts, with one of his misses being from only 27 yards out. Two days after that performance, the 49ers moved on.

Moody will now look to continue his career with his third squad of the 2025 campaign. Gay missed six of his 19 attempts before getting cut, and the team will surely be hoping for a better performance from their newest acquisition.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.

Jets Sign DT Khalen Saunders

November 17th, 2025 at 4:47pm CST by Adam La Rose

4:47pm: Sanders has now officially signed with the Jets, per a team announcement. He will look to handle a larger workload in New York over the coming weeks than he did in Jacksonville.

2:07pm: Khalen Saunders was cut by the Jaguars last week. It appears as though the veteran defensive tackle will not have to wait long to line up his next gig.

Saunders is expected to sign with the Jets, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports. Shortly before Pelissero’s report, veteran insider Jordan Schultz noted a deal was likely to be struck in the near future. Per Schultz, the list of teams which have shown interest in Saunders includes the Jets but also the Ravens, Colts and Cardinals.

In August, Saunders was traded from the Saints to the Jaguars. That move ended his two-year run in New Orleans but it did not yield a notable workload upon arrival with his new team. The 29-year-old played just two games with Jacksonville before the team elected to move on.

Saunders is a vested veteran, but since the end of his Jaguars tenure came after the trade deadline he went on waivers. Upon clearing, the former third-rounder became free to sign with any team. Nothing is officially in place yet, but a Jets agreement would come as little surprise given their reported interest on this front.

New York’s defensive tackle group was shaken up at the deadline by the blockbuster Quinnen Williams trade. The Jets received Mazi Smith from the Cowboys as part of the swap, but the team could still look to made further additions down the stretch. Signing Saunders would provide New York with a veteran presence who could audition for an extended stay with the team through 2026.

On the other hand, Saunders was understandably seen as a candidate to join a contender for the closing stages of the campaign. The 2-8 Jets (along with the 3-7 Cardinals, for that matter) certainly fit that description to much less of an extent than teams likes the Colts and Ravens. It will be interesting to see if a deal is nevertheless struck between Saunders and the Jets in the near future.

New York entered Monday with nearly $19MM in cap space. As such, a low-cost Saunders pact will not be a challenge for the team as its roster moves continue in the second half of the season.

Commanders Release K Matt Gay

November 17th, 2025 at 3:37pm CST by Adam La Rose

Matt Gay‘s struggles continued on Sunday. The veteran kicker’s time in the nation’s capital has come to an end as a result.

Gay was released on Monday, per a Commanders announcement. He will now hit the waiver wire. In the likely event no claims are made, the 31-year-old will become a free agent. Based on how the 2025 season has gone, it will be interesting to see how much interest Gay generates.

“The performance, you’ve got to have it,” head coach Dan Quinn said of the decision to move on (via ESPN’s John Keim). “We wanted it to work long term with Matt. It wasn’t [about] one game.”

Gay has played in 10 of the Commanders’ 11 games this season. Over that span, he connected on just 13 of 19 attempts. Five of his misses came from beyond 50 yards, including two during yesterday’s game against the Dolphins. Washington wound up losing that contest 16-13 in overtime. Moving forward, the team will be in the market for a kicker addition to close out the season.

A Pro Bowler in 2021, Gay enjoyed a strong run during his time with the Rams and Colts. Accuracy from short range (including extra points) has been a consistent positive in his case, but long-distance field goals have remained an issue at every stop during his career. Gay’s overall success rate on tries beyond 50 yards sits at just 59.2%.

Recent years have seen a massive uptick in the range for many kickers around the league, and as such an ability to consistently convert from 50 yards (or well beyond) has increasingly become the expectation for NFL teams. With that in mind, Gay may struggle to generate a market among potential suitors for the remainder of the year as well as the coming offseason.

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