A handful of practice squad transactions to pass along:
New York Jets
Seattle Seahawks
The Jets re-signed Parks to their practice squad and immediately elevated him to the active roster, per Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic (on Twitter). The defensive back has bounced on and off the Jets roster this season, but he’s still managed to appear in 11 games.
12:06pm: The longtime Seahawk will opt for a surgery that could have him back after just one missed game, Rapoport tweets. This would obviously be a major boon to Seattle’s playoff hopes, but a firm timetable will not be established until after the procedure.
8:34am: Tyler Lockett has never faced an extended injury-related absence as a pro, missing only two games throughout an eight-year career. But the Seahawks will need to get by without him during a crucial stretch.
After Pete Carroll confirmed Lockett suffered a broken index finger during the Seahawks’ loss to the 49ers on Thursday night, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes the injury will sideline the longtime starter for at least two games. Lockett is not a lock to return this season, representing a blow the team has not had to navigate previously.
Attached to his third Seahawks contract — a four-year, $69MM deal — Lockett has missed one game due to injury. That came back in 2016. His other absence, last season, came due to COVID-19. Lockett has been a constant for Russell Wilson and now Geno Smith, but the sliding Seahawks (7-7) will need to turn to other options alongside D.K. Metcalf going forward.
Carroll said Lockett likely suffered the spiral metacarpal crack while trying to make a catch during Seattle’s final drive. Lockett will undergo surgery, and while the notoriously optimistic Carroll said there were multiple options regarding an operation — including one that could allow Lockett to play again this season — the 30-year-old target had not determined which route he would go here.
If Lockett is shut down, he will fall just short of a fourth 1,000-yard receiving season. The second-generation NFL wideout is sitting on a team-leading 964 yards and eight touchdowns, seeing his six-game TD streak come to an end against San Francisco. After leading the way as the Seahawks transitioned following Doug Baldwin‘s retirement, Lockett has been a considerable aid to Smith’s surprising season.
The Seahawks have Marquise Goodwin positioned to see his role expand because of Lockett’s injury. Given a one-year deal worth the league minimum, Goodwin sits third among Seahawks wideout production this season. The former Olympic long jumper has 27 catches for 387 yards and three touchdowns. Former second-round pick Dee Eskridge is on IR and has just seven catches for 58 yards 10 games into his second season.
Today’s minor moves:
Las Vegas Raiders
New York Giants
New York Jets
Seattle Seahawks
Tennessee Titans
Igwebuike is being elevated for the second time this season. Starting rookie running back Kenneth Walker has returned to the lineup but running back and return man DeeJay Dallas missed a second straight week of practice, meaning Igwebuike will likely have return duties while backing up Walker and Travis Homer.
Smith will be undergoing surgery for a nagging bone spur, according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic. The surgery will necessitate a recovery period of about four months, so Smith’s 2022 campaign has come to an end.
Parks re-signed with the Jets this offseason after being claimed by the team last December and starting two games. Despite starting another game this season, Parks has spent most of time on special teams in 11 games this year.
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Detroit Lions
Indianapolis Colts
New York Giants
Seattle Seahawks
The Cardinals will be without their 10th-year GM going forward. Steve Keim stepped away from his post for the time being, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes this health-related matter has been on the radar for months (video link). Keim’s future with the Cardinals is “up in the air,” Rapoport adds. This news comes months after Keim agreed to an extension that runs through 2027. Both Keim and Kliff Kingsbury signed add-ons this offseason, though the latter has also run into some turbulence. With Keim stepping away, Kyler Murray going down with an ACL tear and Kingsbury on the hot seat, this has been one of the more disappointing seasons in recent Cardinals history.
Here is the latest from Arizona and the rest of the NFC West:
DECEMBER 11: Walker is not expected to play against the Panthers, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The Seahawks hope to have him back in action for their upcoming Thursday night matchup with the 49ers.
DECEMBER 10, 3:05pm: Walker and Dallas have both been upgraded to questionable for tomorrow’s game, increasing the likelihood that they make an appearance against the Panthers, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The two still have not practiced all week, so it will be intriguing to see if they are still game-time decisions tomorrow and how much they will play, if at all.
The team also announced that it will be elevating practice squad running back Godwin Igwebuike, who converted to running back last year for the Lions after a couple years as an NFL safety. In 17 games with the Lions last season, Igwebuike ran the ball 18 times for 118 yards and a touchdown, adding seven catches for 60 yards. He also returned kickoffs for the Lions, which may indicate that he is taking an injured Dallas’s spot on the kickoff return team.
Seattle will use its second standard gameday elevation on practice squad receiver Laquon Treadwell.
DECEMBER 10, 2:04pm: Initially listed as questionable after injuries in last weekend’s win over the Rams, Seahawks running backs Kenneth Walker and DeeJay Dallas have both been downgraded to doubtful leading into the team’s matchup against the Panthers this Sunday, according to ESPN’s Brady Henderson. Both Walker and Dallas will be game-time decisions to play this weekend. 
Seattle was closing in on panic mode as Walker, Dallas, and fourth-stringer Tony Jones all left the game with injuries. With primary backup running back Travis Homer already declared out for last week’s game, the Seahawks were in trouble when Walker and Dallas exited the game. When Jones sustained a hard hit and made his way to the injury tent, Dallas was asked to return to play despite being listed as doubtful to return.
Walker and Dallas are both technically possible actives for tomorrow, but neither has participated in practice at all this week. This may present Homer with his fist starting opportunity since his rookie season. A former sixth-round draft pick out of Miami, Homer has mostly served as a reserve back in a deep position room. Behind the team’s usual top running backs duo, Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny, Homer was granted few opportunities to run the ball or show his prowess catching passes out of the backfield during his first three seasons.
Homer has held onto a roster spot much the same way as his former Hurricanes teammate, Dallas: stellar special teams play. While Dallas’s special teams impact has come as a returner. Homer tends to play on all of the kickoff, punt, and return units. He’s racked up a good amount of special teams tackles with aggressive play and even forced some turnovers. In fact, his lone rushing touchdown in the NFL could be attributed to his special teams play as he scored on a 73-yard rush during a fake punt. He has another special teams touchdown from an onside kick recovery that saw him recover the attempt and speed past would be tacklers as they looked for a ball that was on its way to the endzone.
Homer’s first start three seasons ago came in a Week 17 game that saw injuries force his way up the depth chart. The team signed then-retired running back Marshawn Lynch to back him up, welcoming Lynch back after four years away from the team. In his lone regular-season start, Homer rushed for 62 yards on 10 carries and caught all five of his targets for 30 more yards. He also started the Seahawks’ first-round playoff game before Lynch got the start in the second round.
If Walker and Dallas are unable to go, Jones will likely serve as Homer’s backup. Recent practice squad addition, Wayne Gallman, is also reportedly ready to play if Seattle needs him. Whoever is taking handoffs, Seattle may need a big game from them against a Panthers defense that has been more vulnerable to the run than the pass this year. A big game from Homer and company may be needed to keep the Seahawks from going 0-4 against the NFC South this season.
Here are the minor moves around the league in advance of the Week 14 slate of games:
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Cleveland Browns
Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings
New York Giants
New York Jets
Philadelphia Eagles
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans
The NFL now has its first teams eliminated from playoff contention. The Texans and Bears, as they essentially have been doing throughout this season, are playing for next year. Other eliminations will soon follow, as the league’s playoff picture heats up.
Through that lens, the 2023 draft order will become an increasingly more pertinent topic. The 2023 draft will present an interesting subplot near its outset. Traded picks are set to produce early selections for the Seahawks, Lions and Eagles. Each of those picks currently land in the top five, as the teams on the other end of those trades — the Broncos, Rams and Saints — have disappointed, spectacularly so in Los Angeles and Denver’s cases.
For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2022 standings — plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule — with playoff squads being slotted by their postseason outcome and regular-season record. Here is how the draft order would look entering Week 14:
* = Denotes playoff team
The 2023 first round will resemble 2008 and 2016, when the Patriots were docked their Round 1 pick for their respective “gate” scandals. This year’s Dolphins saga never developed “gate” status, but the team lost a 2023 first-round pick and 2024 third-rounder due to the Tom Brady–Sean Payton tampering case. Thus, a 31-pick first round will commence.
While the Broncos, Rams and Browns lost their first-round picks due to trades for quarterbacks, the Saints passed theirs to the Eagles in this year’s pre-draft trade that allowed New Orleans a path toward moving up for Chris Olave. The No. 16 pick which was initially transferred from the Colts to the Eagles in 2021’s Carson Wentz trade was then moved to the Saints, netting Philadelphia a 2023 first-rounder and a 2024 second.
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Cincinnati Bengals
Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos
Las Vegas Raiders
New York Jets
Philadelphia Eagles
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs
New Orleans Saints
Philadelphia Eagles
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans
Prior to waiving Stevenson, the Bills activated the second-year wide receiver from IR, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The procedural move would allow Stevenson — should he clear waivers — to return to Buffalo on a practice squad agreement. This will still count toward Buffalo’s eight injury activations, but the team still has six remaining. A 2021 sixth-round pick, Stevenson combined for 21 punt- and kick-return reps as a rookie.
The Eagles placed Robert Quinn on IR on Tuesday but will have a reinforcement in Robinson, a 2021 Vikings fourth-round pick. The Eagles signed Robinson off the Vikings’ practice squad in mid-September. He has yet to play in an NFL game.
A former franchise-tagged player, Harris was unable to carve out much of a role in Denver. The ex-Vikings and Eagles starter only played in three games for the Broncos, who signed him just before the season. Despite having a six-INT season on his resume, the 31-year-old defender did not play a defensive snap with the Broncos.