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Steelers To Sign Marquez Valdes-Scantling

October 27th, 2025 at 6:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

Aaron Rodgers has not thrown his weight around in Pittsburgh to the degree he did in New York, but one of his former targets will join him in Pennsylvania. Marquez Valdes-Scantling‘s Steelers workout will produce a deal, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports.

This marks another nomadic year for Valdes-Scantling, who spent time with the Seahawks and 49ers. In 2024, he moved from Kansas City to Buffalo to New Orleans. This Pittsburgh trek does provide a notable reunion, as Rodgers and MVS played together from 2018-21 in Green Bay.

[RELATED: Steelers Eyeing Second Season With Rodgers]

The Buccaneers also showed interest in the veteran deep threat, according to veteran insider Jordan Schultz, who adds the Steelers were interested after his Seahawks release. Dropped by two teams since August, Valdes-Scantling preferred the Rodgers reunion at this stage, per Schultz.

Now 31, MVS has lost considerable value since his three-year, $30MM Chiefs pact. But the Steelers will hope some familiarity can help — even if this is probably not the end of their much-rumored wideout pursuit. They were previously linked to Jakobi Meyers and Calvin Ridley.

Valdes-Scantling is still collecting guaranteed money from the Seahawks, who gave him a one-year deal worth $4MM. Seattle ate $3MM fully guaranteed by cutting MVS out of training camp. The reunion with Klint Kubiak proved short-lived, but the receiver-needy 49ers gave him a shot. That partnership ended earlier this month with an injury settlement. The eighth-year veteran appears ready to contribute in Pittsburgh, though Fowler adds this is likely a practice squad deal to start.

After making aggressive pursuits of receivers — most notably Brandon Aiyuk — last year, the Steelers are at it again. They have not seen anyone emerge as a reliable D.K. Metcalf complementary piece. Months ago, they came up as a potential destination for ex-MVS/Rodgers Packers teammate Allen Lazard. No move has transpired, but the team has been tied to the WR market once again. With Jaylen Waddle and Chris Olave not expected to be moved, pickings appear slim for teams eyeing help here ahead of the November 4 deadline.

The Steelers, who did see Calvin Austin return to action Sunday night after a two-game absence, do not have a second wideout beyond 175 yards. Austin sits at 167, with Roman Wilson at 110. Tight ends have served as Rodgers auxiliary options. Valdes-Scantling played in five 49ers games this season, catching four passes for 40 yards. After being a Bills in-season release, MVS caught on with the Saints and impressed, posting 17 catches for 385 yards and four TDs.

This reunion comes after Rodgers influenced the Jets to sign Lazard and Randall Cobb in 2023, when they also hired ex-Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett to the same position and signed ex-Green Bay blocker Billy Turner. Rodgers later pushed for Davante Adams at the 2024 trade deadline, getting his wish. The Steelers are more or less throwing a dart by placating Rodgers via this transaction, but it would not surprise to see MVS — who was part of Rodgers’ third and fourth MVP seasons (2020-21) — see time soon due to his familiarity with Pittsburgh’s high-profile QB.

The Bucs are currently without Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan. And Emeka Egbuka recently returned from a hamstring injury. For now, they will hope Godwin — who is not on IR — can make a near-future return to complement Egbuka. The team still has Sterling Shepard as a No. 3 option in that reality, with rookie Tez Johnson being utilized amid the injuries as well.

Commanders Sign Matthew Wright To Practice Squad, Elevate K For Week 8

October 27th, 2025 at 6:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Commanders will attempt to derail the Chiefs without Jayden Daniels tonight, but their Marcus Mariota-led effort will involve a backup kicker as well. Matt Gay is out for this matchup, leading a former Chief back to Arrowhead Stadium for emergency duty.

Washington added Matthew Wright to its practice squad today, and that move will precede a second transaction involving the nomadic fill-in specialist. Following this practice squad signing, the Commanders announced Wright will be one of their gameday elevations. He will kick for the visitors tonight.

Gay suffered a back injury during practice, being moved to the injury report Saturday. That forced the Commanders into this 11th-hour addition. Wright will join defensive tackle Sheldon Day as gameday elevations, per the team. Day, though, has been on the team’s P-squad throughout the season. This will be Wright’s first game action, though he does have a notable past in Kansas City.

A previous Harrison Butker fill-in, Wright once set the Arrowhead Stadium record for longest field goal by booting a 59-yard try before halftime in a 2022 win over the Raiders. Butker returned the following week and broke the record by hitting a 62-yarder before the half in a loss to the Bills. Wright later circled back to the Chiefs as a 2024 Butker replacement, kicking in two games. This included a 19-17 win over the Chargers, when Wright clanked a field goal off the upright and through for one of the Chiefs’ many close 2024 wins.

Overall, the six-year veteran has kicked for six teams. His only extended work came in a 14-game run with the 2021 Jaguars. Wright has also kicked for the Steelers, Panthers, 49ers and Titans. The Tennessee work has come over the past two seasons. He stopped through as a Joey Slye replacement in one game this season. Last year, he kicked for the Titans, 49ers and Chiefs, making 15 of 16 field goal tries.

Gay, who signed with Washington soon after his Indianapolis release, remains on the team’s active roster. Though, it is not known if the veteran will be ready to return for Week 9.

Rams Place WR Tutu Atwell On IR

October 27th, 2025 at 4:22pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Rams placed wide receiver Tutu Atwell on injured reserve on Monday, per a team announcement.

Atwell missed the team’s Week 6 matchup with the Ravens due to a hamstring injury, according to ESPN’s Sarah Barshop. Based on the Rams’ injury report, the fifth-year wideout appears to have suffered the injury in practice that week. He got back to full participation in Week 7, but only played 10 snaps in that game and now lands on IR after Los Angeles’ Week 8 bye.

Atwell will be on the shelf for at least four games. His earliest return would be on November 30 for the Rams’ Week 13 matchup with the Panthers.

The 2021 second-round pick has never quite lived up to his draft billing. He played 10 snaps on offense as a rookie with a bigger role as a returner, but landed on season-ending injured reserve halfway through the year. He took steps forward over his next three seasons, culminating in a strong 2024 showing. He saw a downtick in snap share, but still put up career-highs in terms of volume (42 receptions, 562 yards) and efficiency (67.7% catch rate, 9.1 yards per target).

That earned Atwell a one-year, $10MM deal with the Rams this offseason in the hopes that he could produce even more in a bigger role after the departure of Cooper Kupp. Shortly after, though, Los Angeles added Davante Adams. Not only did that bump Atwell down the depth chart, it also gave Matthew Stafford another All-Pro receiver to target. The veteran quarterback is known for funneling targets to his elite wideouts – like Calvin Johnson, Kupp, and Puka Nacua in past seasons – and has continued to do so with Nacua and Adams this year.

As a result, Atwell only has four catches this season, though he has taken them for 164 yards to average 41 yards per reception. His injury coincided with Nacua’s ongoing absence, however, rendering him unable to take advantage of the available targets.

The Rams will hope that Atwell can return this season and contribute in some capacity. He is set to hit free agency next offseason and seem unlikely to earn as lucrative a deal as he did this year.

Raiders Sign WR Tyler Lockett

October 27th, 2025 at 8:56am CST by Adam La Rose

Tyler Lockett‘s time with the Titans came to an end last week. The veteran wideout’s request to be release was granted, allowing him to hit the open market.

In short order, Lockett’s next gig has been lined up. A deal is in place with the Raiders, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. He adds Lockett will officially sign later today, putting him in line to make his Vegas debut as early as Week 9. The move has now taken place.

This news comes as little surprise. Lockett’s first 10 campaigns took place as a member of the Seahawks before he was cut this offseason. Much of that time in Seattle allowed him to overlap with Pete Carroll, who is now in place as the Raiders’ head coach. A reunion between the two is now in store to close out the 2025 season.

Lockett, 33, topped 1,000 yards each year from 2019-22 but saw his production decline over the course of his final two Seattle campaigns. Upon being released, the former Pro Bowler took a one-year, $4MM deal with the Titans. Tennessee has struggled on offense with rookie quarterback Cam Ward, though, and Lockett totaled just 70 scoreless yards during his brief tenure there. He will look to rebound in Vegas ahead of reaching the open market once again next spring.

The Raiders are among the teams in line to adopt a seller’s stance ahead of the trade deadline. Wideout Jakobi Meyers in particular could be on the move as contending teams look for rental additions to close out the campaign. It will be interesting to see if the Lockett addition has an impact on Vegas’ willingness to move on from Meyers over the coming days.

The Raiders have struggled across the board on offense this season, and improving during the post-bye portion of their schedule will be a key priority. Lockett will look to contribute on that front during the second half of the season. Finding success in that role could earn him an extended stay in Vegas and a more permanent second stint working with Carroll.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/25/25

October 25th, 2025 at 5:29pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are Saturday’s minor moves and standard gameday practice squad elevations for tomorrow’s slate of games:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Recently named QB2 Shedeur Sanders found his way to the injury report today with a back injury. By elevating Zappe, Cleveland is ensuring Sanders won’t play tomorrow, since in order to have three quarterbacks dressed for gameday, all three passers must be on the 53-man roster. Zappe will back up Dillon Gabriel, and Sanders will likely be in sweats. Similarly in Carolina, with Bryce Young set to sit this week, Hooker has been called up to back up Andy Dalton.

Both Buccaneers quarterbacks, Baker Mayfield and Teddy Bridgewater, were on the injury report this week, though neither received a “questionable” injury designation as result of their ailments. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported that both passers are expected to be available, but with Bazelak taking up a spot on the active roster, it seems likely that only one other quarterback will be suited up alongside the practice squad callup. Because Bazelak’s not on the 53-man roster, only two passers can be active. Tampa Bay can still designate Bazelak as the inactive third quarterback, but doing so would seemingly be making this elevation moot.

There is no corresponding move necessary for Philadelphia to add Cooper. The team received a two-game roster exemption after signing veteran defensive end Brandon Graham, so they had an open roster spot.

For Basham in Carolina and Jennings in New England, this will be their third and final standard gameday practice squad elevations. If either of their respective teams want them to play in another game this season, they will need to first be signed to the 53-man roster.

Falcons Place LB Divine Deablo On IR, Activate S Jordan Fuller

October 25th, 2025 at 4:41pm CST by Connor Byrne

Linebacker Divine Deablo has been superb in his first season with the Falcons, but the team will go without him for the foreseeable future. The Falcons placed Deablo on IR with a broken forearm on Saturday. He’ll miss at least four games and won’t be eligible to return until Week 12.

[RELATED: Kirk Cousins To Start Week 8]

A former third-round pick and a Raider for the first four seasons of his career, Deablo left Las Vegas to sign a two-year, $14MM pact with Atlanta last March. The deal worked out well for the Falcons until Deablo suffered his injury in a loss to the 49ers last Sunday.

Over six games this year (all starts), Deablo has tallied 24 tackles, four passes defensed, a fumble recovery, and a half-sack. Opposing quarterbacks have mustered a weak 79.6 passer rating when they’ve thrown Deablo’s way. Not surprisingly, Pro Football Focus ranks Deablo’s overall performance seventh among 78 qualifying linebackers.

Thanks in part to Deablo, Atlanta’s defense ranks second in the NFL in yards per game allowed and eighth in points surrendered this year. Second-year linebacker JD Bertrand will be among those tasked with filling in for Deablo. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said this week he’ll take a “committee” approach in replacing the 6-foot-3, 223-pound Deablo, who combines a linebacker’s size with the athleticism of a defensive back (via Scott Kennedy of SI.com).

While Deablo is now on injured reserve, the Falcons brought back safety Jordan Fuller from IR on Saturday. The former Ram and Panther signed a one-year deal with the Falcons last March, joining Deablo as an offseason free agent pickup. He played 16 of his 17 snaps on special teams in a Week 1 loss to the Buccaneers before succumbing to a knee injury. With 56 career starts, Fuller will give the Falcons experienced depth behind the starting safety tandem of Jessie Bates and Xavier Watts.

Linebacker/defensive back Ronnie Harrison will join Fuller as part of Atlanta’s ‘D’ on Sunday against Miami. The Falcons signed Harrison from their practice squad to their 53-man roster on Saturday. They also elevated quarterback Easton Stick and wide receiver Dylan Drummond from their P-squad.

With backup quarterback Kirk Cousins considered ” highly likely” to start in place of usual starter Michael Penix Jr., who’s dealing with a knee injury, Stick’s elevation likely indicates that Penix will be inactive on Sunday. Since Stick isn’t on the 53-man roster, only two quarterbacks will be active for tomorrow’s game. If Penix is able to start, Stick will likely be designated the inactive third quarterback, but with things trending towards Cousins starting behind center to start tomorrow’s game, Penix could be the inactive passer.

Giants Activate K Graham Gano From IR

October 25th, 2025 at 3:55pm CST by Connor Byrne

After a four-week absence, Giants kicker Graham Gano will return Sunday against the Eagles. The Giants are activating Gano from IR, Jordan Raanan of ESPN reports. He’ll be their only active kicker in Philadelphia, per Raanan.

The 38-year-old Gano connected on all six field-goal tries and four straight extra points to begin the season, but he suffered a groin injury in pregame warmups in Week 3. Injuries have been an all-too-frequent occurrence for Gano since he signed a three-year, $16.5MM contract extension in 2023. He has now missed 20 games dating back to then.

Gano, who returned to practice earlier this week, will reclaim his job from fill-in Jude McAtamney. The Northern Ireland native converted both of his field-goal attempts during Gano’s four-game stint on IR. However, he missed three of his 12 extra-point tries, including two in a deflating 33-32 loss to the Broncos last Sunday. The Giants then cut McAtamney on Tuesday before re-signing him to their practice squad. He and veteran Younghoe Koo are in the fold as fallback options behind Gano.

Along with activating Gano on Saturday, the Giants elevated wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey and safety Raheem Layne from their practice squad. It’ll be the third standard gameday elevation for both players, which is the limit. The Giants will need to sign either to their 53-man roster if they want to activate one or both of them again.

The Giants also waived linebacker Swayze Bozeman, who has appeared in four of their games this season. The 26-year-old has played 92 snaps (75 on special teams, 17 on defense) and made three tackles.

Jets Activate LB Quincy Williams From IR

October 25th, 2025 at 3:39pm CST by Ely Allen

Just three days after opening his 21-day practice window, the Jets have opted to activate linebacker Quincy Williams off of injured reserve. To make room on the 53-man roster, two players were placed on IR. Wide receiver Josh Reynolds and linebacker Cam Jones will miss at least the next four games after both suffered recent hip injuries.

Williams should easily fit back into the starting lineup on defense next to Jamien Sherwood. Just a year and a half removed from a first-team All-Pro season, Williams should immediately bring improvement to the Jets’ defensive front seven. Rookie fifth-round pick Kiko Mauigoa has been starting in Williams’ place and will likely revert to the third linebacker role, in which he’ll work on the first-team defense for formations that don’t require extra defensive backs.

Another interesting aspect of this transaction concerns the narrative of the trade deadline arriving in 10 days. Despite spending the last four weeks on IR, Williams has reportedly been monitored by teams looking for linebacker help on the trade market. Despite his recent All-Pro acclaim, Williams saw Sherwood, a former special teamer who developed into a starting role, earn a shiny, new deal as Williams made his way into a contract year. Though the shoulder injury may have dinged his value a bit, if a team comes in with the right price, the winless Jets are certainly in position to sell.

Reynolds has been running as WR2 in the Jets bottom-ranked pass attack this year. In five games, he’s caught 11 passes for 101 yards as the fourth most-targeted pass catcher on the offense, behind rookie tight end Mason Taylor and running back Breece Hall. With Reynolds out, fourth-round rookie Arian Smith and veterans Allen Lazard and Tyler Johnson will need to step up behind WR1 Garrett Wilson.

With Jones joining Reynolds on IR, the Jets had an open spot on the 53-man roster. The team opted to fill that spot by signing practice squad receiver Brandon Smith to the active roster. Smith will add depth to the receiving corps during Reynolds’ extended absence. Additionally, New York announced that it would call up defensive tackle Payton Page as a standard gameday practice squad elevation.

The Jets’ other practice squad elevation will be utilized on undrafted rookie quarterback Brady Cook. The Mizzou product is being called up for the second time this year to serve as the team’s backup quarterback on Sunday. Though it was initially thought that veteran Tyrod Taylor would be replacing Justin Fields as QB1, a knee injury will hold Taylor out, forcing Fields back into the first-team lineup and necessitating the elevation of Cook to back him up.

Bills Activate Maxwell Hairston From IR

October 25th, 2025 at 3:05pm CST by Connor Byrne

Bills first-round rookie Maxwell Hairston is finally set for his NFL debut. The team announced that it has activated the cornerback from injured reserve.

The 30th overall pick from Kentucky, Hairston entered the summer competing with Tre’Davious White for the Bills’ No. 2 corner job opposite Christian Benford. Hairston suffered an LCL injury early in training camp, though, leading to an IR placement for him and a starting role for White.

At 30 years old and having dealt with two major injuries in recent seasons (a torn ACL and an Achilles tear), White has struggled to regain his past form in 2025. Benford has also failed to impress after landing a four-year, $69MM extension last offseason.

To make matters worse for the Bills, they’ve been thin at boundary corner behind Benford and White. Another one of their rookies, sixth-rounder Dorian Strong, went on IR with a neck injury after Week 4. He may not return this season. With Strong and Hairston out, the Bills have been down to Ja’Marcus Ingram – a healthy inactive multiple times in 2025 – as their third outside corner in recent weeks.

The addition of Hairston will provide some much-needed playmaking ability and speed to the Bills’ secondary. The team’s corners have gone without an interception during a 4-2 start in which the defense has picked off just two passes. Hairston racked up five INTs in 2023, though he totaled just one over seven games in an injury-limited year last season. The 5-foot-11, 183-pounder then ran the fastest 40-yard dash time at the combine (4.28), which no doubt contributed to the Bills’ decision to draft him.

After missing the Bills’ first six games, Hairston returned to practice this past Monday. The Bills would have had 21 days to activate him, but head coach Sean McDermott will bring him into the fold much quicker than that. Hairston will debut Sunday against the Panthers as the Bills try to snap a two-game losing streak.

Safety Jordan Poyer and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips will join Hairston on Buffalo’s active roster in Week 8. The team, which is banged up at both positions, elevated the pair of Jordans from the practice squad on Saturday.

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