Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Carolina Panthers
Indianapolis Colts
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Rams
Seattle Seahawks
The Raiders will add some tight end depth for the second half of the season. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that the Raiders have activated tight end Michael Mayer from the non-football injury list.
[RELATED: Raiders TE Michael Mayer Returns To Practice]
Mayer landed on the NFI list in early October due to undisclosed personal reasons and has missed the Raiders’ last six games. The tight end returned to practice earlier this week, and the Raiders are expecting to throw him right into the fire.
“I think there’s obviously an opportunity there for him,” coach Antonio Pierce said (via Vic Tafur of The Athletic). “The more we can get him involved, the better.”
Through the first three weeks of the season, Mayer had appeared in 56 percent of his team’s offensive snaps. Even with the expected emergence of first-round TE Brock Bowers, there should still be a role for the second-year pro in Las Vegas. Mayer looked the part of a potential TE1 as a rookie, finishing the year with 27 catches for 304 yards and two touchdowns. Harrison Bryant and John Samuel Shenker will likely slide down the depth chart with Mayer back in the lineup.
The Raiders made a handful of additional moves in anticipation of tomorrow’s matchup with the Dolphins. The team announced that they’ve waived wideout Alex Bachman, and they also promoted receiver Terrace Marshall and center Will Putnam from the practice squad as standard gameday elevations.
With Colorado sitting 18th in the AP Top 25 and the Buffaloes appearing to have taken a clear step forward, coach Deion Sanders has already drawn some speculation about a pivot to professional football. While that could ultimately be Sanders’ ultimate plan, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz says the coach hasn’t had any “official conversations with anyone” about heading to the NFL.
However, Schultz does seem to be keep the door open regarding a future move to the NFL, as the reporter notes that Sanders’ current focus is on winning at Colorado this season. Sanders’ NFL opportunities would be reliant on an organization’s willingness to take a chance on the divisive coach, and it’s worth noting that he still has three years remaining on his Colorado contract after this season.
Even if we assume Sanders doesn’t get an NFL job this offseason, he’ll still surely be in the news as his son, Shedeur Sanders, pushes to be an early selection in the draft. As Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports writes, the elder Sanders is ready to “step in” if he decides that the “wrong” organization is targeting his son. In fact, Deion’s considerable influence over Shedeur has already led to “significant apprehension” from NFL squads as they weigh the pros and cons of selecting the Colorado QB. While some executives are generally low on the prospect’s NFL future (one described Shedeur as “Tyrod Taylor 2.0″), there was also a sentiment that the player just wasn’t “worth all the extra stuff.”
Still, there will be surely be one team that takes a chance on the player’s upside, even if it means Shedeur ends up sliding down draft boards. Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal recently noted the connections between the Sanders family and the Raiders. Deion has generally been a fan of the organization, including head coach Antonio Pierce and team president Sandra Douglass Morgan. Shedeur has also been mentored by now part-Raiders owner Tom Brady, and the prospect has been spotted visiting Las Vegas multiple times this year.
While it’s uncertain if they’d fit Deion’s lofty standards, the Giants have also been mentioned as a potential suitor for the QB prospect. Members of the organization visited the University of Colorado last month to get a first-hand look at Sanders (per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones), with assistant general manager Brandon Brown even speaking to the Colorado squad after practice.
The Sanders duo will continue to steal headlines over the next few weeks, especially if Colorado makes a push for the playoffs. For better or for worse, that won’t be the last that we hear from Deion and Shedeur, as the tandem will continue to be central characters during the NFL’s offseason.
Michael Mayer will soon resume his sophomore campaign. The Raiders announced that the second-year tight end returned to practice today. With Mayer having been designated for return, the team will now have 21 days to activate the player to the active roster.
Mayer landed on the non-football injury list in early October due to personal reasons and has missed the Raiders’ last six games. Assuming the tight end doesn’t require an extended ramp-up period, he should be back for Sunday’s matchup with the Dolphins.
The 2023 second-round pick showed flashes as a rookie. In 14 games (12 starts), the Notre Dame product hauled in 27 catches for 304 yards and two touchdowns. With Austin Hooper hitting free agency this past offseason, Mayer had an opportunity to solidify himself as the team’s long-term answer at the position. Unfortunately for the player, the Raiders used a first-round pick on Brock Bowers, meaning Mayer will be locked in as a backup for the foreseeable future.
Still, that doesn’t mean Mayer will go unused in Las Vegas. Before landing on NFI, the tight end was getting into more than 50 percent of his team’s offense snaps, and although Bowers has seen his snap count increase throughout the season, there’s a good chance the Raiders go back to a similar arrangement for the stretch run of the season. With Mayer out of the lineup, the Raiders have turned to the likes of Harrison Bryant and John Samuel Shenker to soak up leftover snaps at the position.
We have reached the 2024 trade deadline, which came one week later than the league’s usual endpoint. An offseason measure to move the deadline back one week passed, sliding the deadline beyond Week 9 after it had resided the Tuesday following Week 8 since 2012. That opened the door to more activity this year.
The 2024 offseason also featured extensive work, as teams added starters and depth pieces. Here are the trades involving veteran players (or rookies already drafted) to take place this year:
Bears chose defensive end Austin Booker at No. 144
Broncos sent Seahawks No. 136, included 203 in trade with Jets for QB Zach Wilson
Patriots chose QB Joe Milton at 193
Bucs drafted WR Jalen McMillan at No. 92; Lions traded No. 201 to Eagles
Panthers traded down from No. 39, giving Rams access to DT Braden Fiske; team moved No. 141 in Bills deal that sent WR Xavier Legette to Carolina. Giants chose RB Tyrone Tracy at 166.
Bengals chose DB Daijahn Anthony at No. 224
Texans traded No. 232 to Vikings
Ravens chose WR Devontez Walker at No. 113, QB Devin Leary at 218; Jets drafted RB Braelon Allen at 134
Commanders traded Nos. 78, 152 to Eagles in trade that sent CB Cooper DeJean to Philadelphia; Seahawks moved down from No. 102, drafted G Sataoa Laumea at 179
Bolts traded No. 110 to Patriots
Steelers chose LB Payton Wilson at No. 98; Eagles traded No. 120 to Dolphins in package that brought back 2025 third-rounder
Fields must play in 51% of Steelers’ offensive snaps for pick to elevate from sixth to fourth round
Chiefs traded No. 221 to Bills; Titans chose OLB Jaylen Harrell at 252
Pick would have become second-rounder had Reddick played 67.5% of Jets’ 2024 defensive snaps and recorded at least 10 sacks. Reddick’s holdout ensured Philly’s pick will land in Round 3.
Texans dealt No. 189 to Lions for Nos. 205, 249
Browns chose CB Myles Harden at No. 227
In trade that gave Vikings J.J. McCarthy draft real estate at No. 10 overall, Jets sent No. 203 to Minnesota; Broncos chose C Nick Gargiulo at 256
Dallas carried Phillips on its active roster for two games, meeting minimum requirement for conditional sixth to transfer
Pick did not convey due to Commanders cutting York before he played in two games with team
Pick would upgrade to second-rounder if Adams earns first- or second-team All-Pro recognition or is on Jets’ active roster for 2024 AFC championship game or Super Bowl LIX
Pick would become fourth-rounder if Hopkins both plays 60% of Chiefs’ remaining offensive snaps and Kansas City advances to Super Bowl LIX
Robinson’s playing time will determine if Jags pick climbs to a fourth-rounder and whether Vikings will end up receiving 2026 seventh
Sixth-rounder going to New Orleans comes from pick Saints sent Commanders for John Ridgeway
As expected, Scott Turner will take over for Luke Getsy. With the Raiders bringing in Norv Turner, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports the team is officially promoting the second-generation NFL coach to the play-calling post.
This will make it five years out of the past six in which Scott Turner will have held an OC role. The former Carolina and Washington play-caller will attempt to revive a struggling Las Vegas offense.
Scott Turner has been with the Raiders for the past two seasons, joining the then-Josh McDaniels-led staff shortly after his Commanders ouster in 2023. Antonio Pierce moved on from offensive staffers Mick Lombardi — the team’s OC under McDaniels — and interim OC Bo Hardegree in his early months in the HC position. As he fired Getsy, Pierce then axed QBs coach Rich Scangarello and O-line coach James Cregg. This left Turner as one of the last men standing in Vegas, and he will have the opportunity to call plays for a third team.
It is safe to say Pierce has put his offense in the Turners’ hands. Norv is returning to the team he once coached (from 2004-05), with Rapoport adding his title will be senior advisor. This will be Norv Turner’s first NFL gig since 2019, when he changed positions to help his son earn a first chance at a play-calling gig. Scott Turner, 42, did not receive this chance upon Lombardi being fired but will now step in. Turner received interest regarding the Patriots’ OC job — one that went to Alex Van Pelt — this offseason.
The Commanders fired Scott Turner — more than 20 years after axing Norv from his HC post — after three seasons. While would-be Raiders OC Kliff Kingsbury is enjoying the chance to work with Jayden Daniels, Scott Turner mentored the likes of Carson Wentz, Taylor Heinicke, Dwayne Haskins and a 36-year-old Alex Smith coming off many surgeries to repair a broken leg. The results: not great. Turner oversaw 25th-, 23rd- and 24th-ranked scoring offenses from 2020-22. Although the Commanders received a lift from Smith en route to the playoffs in 2020, a lack of overall improvement prompted Ron Rivera to move on and hire Eric Bieniemy last year.
Despite Cam Newton going down in Week 2 of the 2019 season, Turner managed a 20th-ranked offense that year. Christian McCaffrey‘s 1,000-1,000 season led the way. The Raiders roster no comparable talent, which hamstrung Getsy. It looks like they are going to hang onto Jakobi Meyers, but the Silver and Black already traded Davante Adams. And they have repeatedly benched Gardner Minshew, the latest instance coming for Desmond Ridder.
The Turners will have their work cut out for them, and their showings could certainly play a role in Pierce’s Las Vegas future. Pierce has both Joe Philbin and ex-Packers OC Edgar Bennett on staff, the latter as WRs coach, but he will turn to the younger Turner at a key point during his HC tenure.
Philbin will, however, become the team’s interim O-line coach. This will be a familiar role for the former Dolphins HC, as he has primarily been an O-line boss during his career. Since his Dolphins firing, Philbin has been the O-line coach with the Colts and Cowboys. Prior to becoming the Packers’ OC in 2007, Philbin served as Mike McCarthy‘s O-line instructor. Added as a senior offensive assistant, Philbin will now return to mentoring blockers after Cregg’s firing came just nine games into his first Raiders season.
Nearly 20 years after the Raiders fired Norv Turner from his HC post, they are bringing back the veteran offensive coach. As Scott Turner looms as the most likely OC fill-in, his father is coming in, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo report.
Norv Turner surfaced as a potential staff addition recently, as the Raiders determine their post-Luke Getsy path. The older Turner is coming in as an assistant, with the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore noting the Raiders are hiring him for an advisory role. Although it is not yet known if Scott Turner will be the Raiders’ new play-caller, signs are pointing to it.
[RELATED: Raiders Fire Luke Getsy, Two Others]
This marks an unretirement for Norv Turner, 72. He last worked as the Panthers’ OC from 2018-19. Once the Panthers fired Ron Rivera that year, Norv moved into a different role as Scott became Carolina’s play-caller. Scott Turner parlayed that Panthers stint into a three-year run as Washington’s OC. The Raiders hired him as pass-game coordinator after his 2023 Commanders dismissal. With Getsy gone, the Turners appear set to play a central role in the Raiders’ second-half plans on offense.
Al Davis initially hired Turner after firing Bill Callahan, but the former Washington HC and future San Diego leader could not prevent what became an extended period of Raiders futility. Norv went 9-23 as Raiders HC, taking over an aging team that ended up saying goodbye to most of its Super Bowl XXXVII bastions — including Rich Gannon, Tim Brown, Jerry Rice and Rod Woodson — during his short HC tenure. (The Raiders traded Rice to the Seahawks during the ’04 season.) The Raiders acquired Randy Moss in 2005, and while the all-time WR great fared better under Turner than he did during a disastrous 2006 Oakland season, Davis still fired his HC ahead of a search that produced a second Art Shell HC stint — one that lasted all of one season.
Turner went just 1-for-7 in playoff berths as Washington’s HC but was 3-for-6 in San Diego. Since the Chargers canned him following the 2012 season, Turner spent time as OC for the Browns (2013), Vikings (2014-16) and Panthers before retiring from coaching. Norv’s 15 seasons of HC experience aside, his most successful coaching period came when he served as Cowboys OC under Jimmy Johnson for three early-1990s seasons during a period that doubled as the launch of the team’s ’90s dynasty.
Scott Turner, 42, will have his father and fellow ex-HC Joe Philbin to lean on, with Antonio Pierce‘s staff also including a third former HC in Marvin Lewis. Pierce said he would spend a day or two determining where he would turn for OC. Ex-Packers OC Edgar Bennett is also on the Raiders’ staff, but an announcement installing Scott Turner as the next play-caller appears imminent.
Monday’s practice squad transactions:
Houston Texans
Las Vegas Raiders
Miami Dolphins
New York Jets
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
Seattle Seahawks
Overton has been serving as the Dolphins’ primary long snapper for the past three games as Blake Ferguson has missed time on the reserve/non-football injury list. While Overton’s release could mean that Ferguson is on his way back to the field, it’s more likely just a result of Overton reaching the limit of three standard gameday elevations under one practice squad contract. Overton has been promoted for three contests now. In order to play in another game this year, Overton will need to be signed to the active roster or signed to a new practice squad contract.
With Tom Coughlin helping Antonio Pierce in 2023 and as he filled out a staff this offseason, the Raiders also hired 16-year NFL head coach Marvin Lewis as assistant HC. As Antonio Pierce became a historically unusual hire due to his lack of experience as an NFL coordinator or college HC, the former linebacker has not been shy about turning to former NFL HCs for assistance during his Raiders tenure.
Another former HC is on the second-year Raiders leader’s radar. With Luke Getsy out of the picture after just nine games, Pierce said the Raiders have not determined his OC replacement. Pass-game coordinator Scott Turner, however, should be considered a likely candidate, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore. Now, Scott’s father — three-time NFL HC Norv Turner — is believed to be on the Raiders’ radar, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones notes.
Scott Turner should be considered the lead candidate to succeed Getsy, Jones adds, and it would then be unsurprising if the Raiders added his father. Norv is viewed as a coach who would help in an unspecified capacity, rather than someone the team is considering to call plays post-Getsy.
The Turners worked together with the Panthers in the late 2010s under Ron Rivera; Norv served as Carolina’s OC from 2018-19 before stepping down during the ’19 slate and giving way to his son. Scott Turner became Carolina’s interim OC and then followed Rivera to Washington, where he served as the team’s play-caller for three seasons.
Now 72, Norv has 15 combined seasons of NFL head coaching experience. Given seven years as Washington’s HC, Norv later resurfaced as the Raiders’ leader (2004-05) and then replaced Marty Schottenheimer in San Diego. Norv Turner went 9-23 as Raiders HC, being in charge during the period in which the team separated from several of its Super Bowl XXXVII starters, including Rich Gannon, Tim Brown and Jerry Rice. The second of Turner’s Raiders HC seasons involved the Randy Moss acquisition. The better of Moss’ two Raiders years came under Turner, though winning proved elusive during an extended stretch of futility for the franchise.
Norv Turner coached the Chargers for six seasons, three of them producing playoff berths. Although Norv has considerable HC experience, he is also quite well known for his time as Jimmy Johnson‘s OC for the Cowboys’ 1992 and ’93 Super Bowl-winning teams.
Following his Chargers ouster, Norv Turner served as OC for the Browns (2013) and Vikings (2014-16). Although Norv Turner coached in Washington, his tenure did not overlap with Pierce’s. Washington added Pierce as a UDFA in 2001, months after Dan Snyder fired Turner. The Las Vegas HC had also considered hiring Hue Jackson this offseason but did not, adding former Dolphins HC Joe Philbin instead. If/when Scott Turner is officially elevated, the Raiders may soon have three former HCs on staff helping out as well.
The Raiders suffered their fifth straight loss today after starting the season 2-2, and the offense continues to struggle to get the job done. As a result, changes are being made. The latest changes come in the form of a staffing updates as offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has reportedly been let go, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The team soon announced quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello and offensive line coach James Cregg have also been dismissed. 
Getsy’s second tenure as an offensive coordinator in the NFL has turned out about the same as his first stint, though Chicago afforded him a tad more leash. A former undrafted quarterback in the league back in 2007, it didn’t take long for Getsy to move on to coaching. After seven seasons in the collegiate ranks, Getsy earned his first NFL coaching gig as an offensive quality control coach with the Packers.
After leaving for a year to be offensive coordinator at Mississippi State, Getsy returned to Green Bay under then-offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and head coach Matt LaFleur. This time, Getsy worked as quarterbacks coach over veteran Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers, already a two-time MVP at the time, made the entire offensive staff look good, winning his third and fourth MVPs in back-to-back years in 2020 and 2021. The performances earned Hackett a head coaching gig in Denver and Getsy his first offensive coordinator job in the NFL with the Bears.
In his first season calling plays, the Bears fielded the league’s top rushing offense, though a 32nd-ranked passing offense put the team at just 28th for total offense. Chicago remained one of the top rushing teams in his second year, and even improved in passing and scoring, but head coach Matt Eberflus cut ties in an attempt to keep his own job with a new offensive coordinator and a new rookie quarterback in 2024.
Getsy rebounded, hopping on staff with new head coach Antonio Pierce after the Raiders fumbled the hiring of Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator. The team seemingly had an agreement in place to hire Kingsbury before the Texas Tech alum backtracked and joined the Commanders. Getsy was the consolation prize, and given tonight’s news, he apparently was hired on a “prove it” basis.
Scangarello joined the Raiders this season two years after being fired midseason from his offensive coordinator job with the University of Kentucky. Cregg was in his first role as an NFL offensive line coach after two years as assistant offensive line coach in San Francisco.
Through nine weeks of the season, the Raiders are 26th in total offense and 25th in points scored. Unlike his time in Chicago, Getsy has not been able to field a top rushing offense. In fact, the team’s 692 rushing yards on the season are only better than the Cowboys (who have 656 in one fewer game). This has forced Getsy and the Raiders to rely on a passing game quarterbacked by Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell.
The results have been middling so far this year in terms of passing yardage, and the two passers have combined for eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Nine lost fumbles for the offense combine with those picks to help the Raiders rank dead-last in turnovers. The team also ranks 32nd in yards per carry, 29th in yards per play, 27th in passer rating, and 26th in offensive points per game this season.
The lackluster offense could partially be blamed on injuries that have limited expected contributors like running back Zamir White and tight end Michael Mayer. The offense was also not helped by the “injury” and eventual trade of star wide receiver Davante Adams, who only appeared in three games for Las Vegas.
Still, it is the play-caller’s job to put the players available to him in positions to succeed, and that job was not getting done in Las Vegas. Just four days ago, Pierce challenged Getsy, telling the media that Getsy’s play-calling “has to get better.” Today’s performance, which saw Minshew benched for recently signed quarterback Desmond Ridder, clearly lacked the improvement that Pierce sought.
Today’s firing marks the fourth time in the last five seasons that the Raiders have changed either a coach or a coordinator in the middle of a season. The seemingly never-ending search for stability in the organization continues with Getsy’s dismissal. Pass game coordinator Scott Turner, formerly an offensive coordinator for the Commanders, has been tabbed as a likely replacement to take over the role of offensive coordinator, though nothing has been reported. In his three years calling plays in Washington, the team’s offense never ranked in the top half of the league.
Following the announcement of Getsy’s firing, EPSN’s Paul Gutierrez and Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal both seemed to indicate that more heads would likely roll. This could have been in reference to the dismissals of Scangarello and Cregg, reported soon after, but with the iron still hot, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a few more names added to the fire.