We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Cincinnati Bengals
Detroit Lions
Los Angeles Rams
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Pittsburgh Steelers
Seattle Seahawks
The NFL’s owners passed two proposals with potential significant ramifications Tuesday, commissioner Roger Goodell announced.
In the event that regular season games with playoff implications are cancelled and the league can’t complete it’s schedule in 17 or 18 weeks, the NFL will add an additional playoff team in each conference to limit the chances a team is unfairly left out of the postseason due to COVID-19 cancellations. This is only a contingency plan, and the current plan is still to proceed with seven playoff teams in each conference. As you’ll recall, this is the first year the playoffs has been expanded to seven teams from six.
The proposal lays out a new seeding system based on winning percentage in the event that teams end up with different numbers of games played. You can read the full language of the proposal courtesy of this tweet from Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The second measure to pass will reward teams for developing minority coaches and executives. If a team has a minority coach/exec that gets hired away to be a new team’s head coach or general manager, they’ll receive two third-round compensatory picks. The picks will come one at a time in consecutive years, not two in the same draft.
You can read the full language of that proposal via this tweet from Pelissero. The vote to pass the playoff contingency plan was unanimous, and it sounds like the minority coaching development reward was passed overwhelmingly as well. The original playoff plan would’ve reseeded the eight teams regardless of division winners, meaning the NFC East winner likely would’ve been the eighth seed, but that part was struck down.
As for other potential rule changes, this offseason there was talk of the NFL adopting new onside kick rules to make it easier for teams to come back, potentially replacing a kick with a 4th and 15 attempt for trailing teams. That ultimately didn’t come too close to passing, but Goodell said Tuesday the issues isn’t going away. “It is something we have thought, and many clubs have thought, would be an exciting addition to the game, and something I think merits a lot of discussion,” the commissioner said, via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com.
We’ve got a long list of all the minor transactions from the last day or so:
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Rams
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
New York Giants
New York Jets
San Francisco 49ers
Washington Football Team
The Steelers have placed quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on the COVID-19 reserve list, per a club announcement. Running back Jaylen Samuels, offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins, and linebacker Vince Williams have also been added to the list. 
The news comes just hours after tight end Vance McDonald was parked with the same designation. Per league rules, each Steelers player will have to isolate for several days and test negative before rejoining the team.
Roethlisberger is not believed to have tested positive. Instead, he was deemed a high-risk, close contact, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Depending on what happens from here, the QB may have a chance to start on Sunday against the Bengals.
Meanwhile, Big Ben is hoping to heal up from double knee injuries suffered against the Cowboys. Despite that setback, Roethlisberger and the Steelers won 24-19 and advanced to 8-0 on the year.
The Browns have placed starting quarterback Baker Mayfield on the reserve/COVID-19 list, according to a team announcement. Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network was first to report the news (via Twitter), and the team’s statement can be found here.
Luckily, Mayfield did not test positive for the coronavirus. Instead, he is considered a close contact with a staff member who tested positive, and Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal says that staff member is not a coach. Based on when the contact occurred, Mayfield could be back at practice on Wednesday if he continues to test negative.
Since the Browns have a bye this week, it appears that Mayfield won’t miss any game action. If something should change in that regard, Case Keenum is available to take the reins.
Mayfield has had an up-and-down season in 2020 after a disappointing sophomore effort last year. He was terrific in a Week 7 win over the Bengals, but he flopped in Cleveland’s Week 8 loss to the Raiders. At 5-3, the Browns still have a good chance at a playoff berth, especially considering their favorable schedule, but questions about Mayfield persist.
On the season, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 draft has completed 61.4% of his passes and has thrown 15 TDs against seven picks, good for a 90.9 QB rating. But he has feasted on teams with poor defenses and has struggled against playoff contenders.
He will have a chance to right the ship against the Texans next week.
The Bears have placed safety Deon Bush on the reserve/COVID-19 list, per a team announcement. According to Dianna Russini of ESPN.com, Bush did not test positive for the coronavirus, but he is considered a close contact with someone who did test positive while he was away from the team (Twitter link).
This is notable because Bush flew with his teammates to Tennessee for this week’s game against the Titans before he learned that the person he was in contact with tested positive, as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk writes. Luckily, COVID-19 tests across the league came back negative this morning, but given the virus’ incubation period, the Bears might not be out of the woods just yet.
Indeed, OL Lachavious Simmons did recently test positive and has joined Bush on the reserve/COVID-19 list. OL Aaron Neary has been summoned from the practice squad to take Simmons’ place on the active roster.
Chicago selected Bush in the fourth round of the 2016 draft. He has started only two games since his rookie season and has seen limited defensive snaps, but he has been a key special teams contributor. Simmons, a seventh-round rookie, just got promoted from the taxi squad earlier this week.
In other Bears news, the club is expected to sign veteran offensive lineman Eric Kush, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). Kush has a visit lined up this week, and assuming he clears COVID-19 protocols and passes a physical, he will join the team. He started four games for the Bears in 2016 and seven contests in 2018.
Here are Saturday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings
New York Giants
Pittsburgh Steelers
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans
Washington Football Team
Ahead of a key AFC matchup against the Colts, the Ravens will have a handful of defenders back. They activated six players off their reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday.
Patrick Queen, DeShon Elliott and L.J. Fort are poised to return to Baltimore’s starting lineup after the team activated the defenders from the COVID list. Each was deemed a high-risk close contact to All-Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who tested positive for the coronavirus and remains on the COVID list.
Linebacker Tyus Bowser, cornerback Terrell Bonds and linebacker Malik Harrison also came off the Ravens’ COVID list Saturday. Matt Judon came off the list earlier this week.
Humphrey will miss Week 9’s Baltimore-Indianapolis game, but the Ravens having several of their starters back will put them in better position to bounce back after their loss to the Steelers. Baltimore’s defense ranks fifth in DVOA, sitting first against the run.
The Ravens promoted Bonds, a second-year player out of Tennessee State, and linebacker Kristian Welch to their active roster. They also promoted safety Geno Stone as Humphrey’s COVID replacement. They placed wide receiver Chris Moore on IR due to a thigh injury.
Matthew Stafford did not practice this week, but he is on track to start Sunday against the Vikings. The Lions activated their veteran starter from their reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday.
The Lions placed Stafford on their COVID list Tuesday, but since his last contact with a person who tested positive for the coronavirus occurred Monday, he will be eligible to play against the Vikings. Should Stafford’s most recent COVID test come back negative Sunday morning, he will start.
This marked the 12th-year quarterback’s second stay on the team’s reserve/COVID list. However, Stafford’s summer placement turned out to be a false positive that prompted the NFL to change its coronavirus protocols. The league has continued to tinker with its virus protocols, leading more players to land on teams’ respective COVID lists as the season has progressed.
Stafford ranks 17th in QBR this season. He will now face Minnesota without having practiced this week and with Kenny Golladay having been declared out with a hip injury.
Here are Friday’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints
New York Giants
San Francisco 49ers