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Cardinals Place CB Garrett Williams On IR

September 17th, 2025 at 8:05pm CST by Ely Allen

Despite walking away with a win this weekend, the Cardinals gave up 328 passing yards to Bryce Young and the Panthers. One reason for that may have been injuries to top corners Garrett Williams, Max Melton, and rookie Will Johnson. Melton and Johnson look like they’ll be fine, but Williams has been placed on injured reserve, per Cardinals staff writer Darren Urban.

Defensive lineman L.J. Collier will reportedly join Williams on IR. A main contributor a year ago after starting 15 games in 2024, Collier has spent the first two weeks of the new season as more of a depth piece on the team’s newly revamped defensive line. The depth hurts, though, as they still await the debut of first-round defensive tackle Walter Nolen.

It’s an unfortunate loss for Arizona with Williams coming off a sophomore campaign in which Pro Football Focus (subscription required) rated him as the third-best cornerback in the NFL. Melton and Johnson are the team’s starting cornerbacks on the outside, while Williams is the primary nickelback of the Cardinals secondary.

It was a knee injury that Williams suffered on Sunday. The team didn’t go into specifics on the injury, but obviously, it’s enough to keep him off the field for at least four weeks. Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon didn’t seem too worried, though, claiming that both Williams and Collier could return at some point in the season. Melton was back at practice today and looked unbothered by his own knee injury, while Johnson didn’t practice today but will continue to be evaluated throughout the rest of the week.

In the meantime, fifth-round rookie Denzel Burke stepped up in a big way in his debut on the team’s defense — Burke played only on special teams in Week 1. Third-year corner Kei’Trel Clark saw an increase in snap count, as well. Clark probably has the best chance to fill the slot cornerback role of Williams’. In extremely limited playing time last season, Clark spent about 39 percent of his time in the slot.

Another option to compete for the nickel role is Darren Hall, who was called up from the practice squad to take Williams’ spot on the active roster. Two more practice squad slots were made vacant when defensive tackle Elijah Simmons was signed to Tampa Bay’s active roster and linebacker Elliott Brown was released. Filling the three newly vacant slots are defensive tackle Zachary Carter, defensive tackle Kyon Barrs, and cornerback Ekow Boye-Doe.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/17/25

September 17th, 2025 at 7:14pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s midweek practice squad moves:

Dallas Cowboys

Houston Texans

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

NFL Minor Transactions: 9/17/25

September 17th, 2025 at 6:48pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are Wednesday’s minor transactions:

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Broughton, the third-round rookie out of Texas, is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a hip injury, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. The team sought multiple opinions on the injury and was unsure about whether or not surgery would be necessary, but the “significant” hip issue will shut him down for the year.

Green rejoins the reigning champs, once again. It’s been a rollercoaster of employment for the 24-year-old guard, who failed to make the initial 53-man roster in Philadelphia, signed to the practice squad, was promoted back to the active roster, and then was waived two days after the team’s season opener.

Loudermilk had been working as a starter for the first time in his five-year career, but he will miss at least the next four games with a high ankle sprain. Leal, a 2022 third-round pick out of Texas A&M, has disappointed in his first three years of play. After moving to more of an outside linebacker role this summer, Leal failed to make the initial 53-man roster but was retained to the practice squad. He’ll take Loudermilk’s spot on the active roster for the time being.

Per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, Watson has been sidelined indefinitely with a calf muscle and Achilles injury. The tendon is not torn, so it may not be season-ending, and Watson could return at some point down the line. Luckily, the receiving corps is set to return some reinforcements as head coach DeMeco Ryans announced that both Christian Kirk and Braxton Berrios are expected to be back in Week 3. Wilson also reports that tight end Cade Stover had successful surgery recently for his broken foot.

49ers To Place G Ben Bartch On IR

September 17th, 2025 at 2:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Post-Laken Tomlinson, the 49ers have prioritized the edges of their offensive line. Trent Williams has stood as a $20MM-per-year blocker since 2021, and the team gave Colton McKivitz another extension after he had replaced top-10 investment Mike McGlinchey at right tackle. That has meant turnover among low-cost players inside. Ben Bartch is part of the latest wave, but he has not made it far in his first season as a full-time San Francisco starter.

Entering the season as the 49ers’ Aaron Banks replacement at left guard, Bartch did not make it out of Week 2. The former Jaguar suffered a high ankle sprain against the Saints, and Kyle Shanahan said he would miss extensive time. That will come to fruition, with the 49ers placing Bartch on IR today, per the San Francisco Chronicle’s Noah Furtado.

This injury is expected to sideline Bartch between four and six weeks, according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. The team will use IR as a result. The 49ers have seven injury activations remaining, having used one of their August IR-return designations on defensive tackle Kevin Givens. While Givens already counts toward that eight-activation total due to a summer designation being used, Bartch will not count toward that number until he is brought back to the 53-man roster.

Tied to a one-year, $1.34MM contract, Bartch beat out Nick Zakelj for the 49ers’ LG job in Week 1. However, seventh-round rookie Connor Colby replaced Bartch when he went down in New Orleans. He will start in Week 3, per The Athletic’s Matt Barrows. Zakelj did not make San Francisco’s 53-man roster but remains on the practice squad. While the young blocker remains an option to provide insurance, the 49ers did not sign him to the active roster in a corresponding move. Tight end Brayden Willis will take Bartch’s place instead.

Colby only arrived as the No. 249 overall pick, but he worked as a four-year starter at Iowa. Blocking for the likes of Kaleb Johnson and Tyler Goodson with the Hawkeyes, Colby earned first-team All-Big Ten acclaim in 2024 and third-team recognition in 2023. Colby made 50 starts at Iowa, providing interesting appeal for a seventh-round pick as a fill-in option. Colby will work opposite 2024 third-round pick Dominick Puni, and it will be worth monitoring if Bartch will return as a starter or a swingman.

A 2020 Jaguars fourth-round pick, Bartch has been in the 49ers’ system since being added shortly after the 2023 trade deadline. Bartch has made 24 career starts, including two last season with the 49ers, but will see his first run as a full-timer since 2022 paused for a while.

Chargers To Place Khalil Mack On IR

September 17th, 2025 at 2:03pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

2:03pm: Mack will head to IR, according to Jim Harbaugh (via ESPN.com’s Kris Rhim). The re-signed outside linebacker will miss at least four weeks, sidelining him for games against the Broncos, Giants, Commanders and Dolphins. It will be far from certain Mack returns when first eligible, though Harbaugh added (via The Athletic’s Daniel Popper) the injury is not believed to be season-ending. The Bolts’ bye is not until Week 12.

This will only be Mack’s second time on IR in a 12-year career. A foot injury in 2021 led Mack to IR and eventually to Los Angeles, with the Chicago regime hired during Mack’s rehab process cleaning house and sending the All-Pro defender to L.A. in a March 2022 trade. Finally off the six-year Bears extension by 2025, Mack re-signed with the Chargers after considering retirement. This injury will significantly affect Mack’s ability to produce on his one-year contract while simultaneously testing the Chargers’ depth — as Mack missed one game from 2022-24 — particularly following the team’s decision to cut Joey Bosa in March.

12:47pm: Chargers outside linebacker Khalil Mack will be out for a few weeks after dislocating his elbow during Monday night’s matchup with the Raiders, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The injury is not season-ending, but Los Angeles will need one of their depth outside linebackers to take Mack’s place for the time being. That will likely be veteran Bud Dupree, who replaced Mack on Monday and has significantly more experience than third-year UDFA Caleb Murphy or fourth-round rookie Kyle Kennard.

At the moment, it seems unlikely that the Chargers will make a signing to bolster their OLB depth. Mack’s injury is not expected to be long-term, and the pool of free agent edge rushers has suddenly dried up after both Preston Smith and Jadeveon Clowney signed with new teams this week.

Instead the Chargers’ plan will likely be as follows: Dupree will start, with Murphy receiving a bump in snaps as the No. 3 edge rusher and Kennard — a fourth-round pick in April — making his NFL debut after two healthy scratches to start the year. The team was comfortable with only four active outside linebackers in Weeks 1 and 2, so they may not feel the need to make an elevation from the practice squad.

Mack, 34, was quiet in Week 1 against the Chiefs but looked better on Monday with one sack and one tackle for loss in Las Vegas. He re-signed with the Chargers this offseason on a one-year, $18MM deal this offseason after six sacks in 2024.

Vikings To Sign QB Desmond Ridder

September 16th, 2025 at 10:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

Desmond Ridder‘s well-traveled NFL journey will include a trip up north. The Vikings are signing the former Falcons third-round pick, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report.

The Raiders did not tender Ridder as a restricted free agent this offseason, and the Bengals did not retain him following roster cuts last month. But Ridder will head to Minnesota following J.J. McCarthy‘s ankle injury. This is an active-roster deal, as Ridder will join UDFA rookie Max Brosmer in backing up Carson Wentz in Week 3. Ridder worked out for the Vikings today, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets, joining Dorian Thompson-Robinson in doing so.

Since March 2024, Ridder has now been with five teams. The Falcons traded him to the Cardinals straight-up for wide receiver Rondale Moore. Arizona, however, waived the primary 2023 Atlanta starter that August. Ridder joined the Raiders off the Cards’ practice squad in late October and made a start for the team. As Las Vegas overhauled its front office and coaching staff yet again, Ridder was not deemed a priority. He then signed with the Bengals, only to not make their 53-man roster out of training camp.

Ridder’s 18 NFL starts notwithstanding, this makes for an odd Vikings QB depth chart. With McCarthy on the mend, Minnesota’s healthy QB options will include a rookie UDFA and two players acquired recently. The Vikes signed Wentz on August 24, doing so upon trading Sam Howell to the Eagles. Wentz will be expected to start against the Bengals this week. With McCarthy far from certain to be ready for Week 4, it is not out of the questions Minnesota holds him out through its Week 6 bye. The Vikings face the Steelers and Browns in Weeks 4 and 5.

Ridder has certainly not impressed as a starting option. The Falcons reversed course on their Ridder call in-season, benching him at points for Taylor Heinicke. This came after the team refrained from a QB search — including what would have been a fruitless push for the then-franchise-tagged Lamar Jackson — and an aim to build around Ridder’s rookie deal. In 2024, Atlanta gave Kirk Cousins a lucrative deal and then drafted Michael Penix Jr. in Round 1. In between, the Ridder-for-Moore swap occurred.

This addition would give the Vikings some cover in the event Wentz is injured or struggles mightily. After all, the one-time MVP candidate-turned-journeyman has been with the Vikings for less than a month. The team retained Brosmer at last month’s roster-setting deadline, rather than risk putting him on waivers en route to the practice squad, but it might be a tall order for the rookie UDFA (out of Minnesota) to step in as a starter. With Ridder just joining the team, he would certainly be limited if asked to leapfrog Brosmer in relief of Wentz.

Jaguars Release DB Darnell Savage

September 16th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Losing a battle for a starting job in his second Jacksonville offseason, Darnell Savage no longer appears in the team’s plans. The Jaguars released the veteran DB on Tuesday, per a team announcement.

The Jags will take on nearly $10MM in dead money by dropping Savage, who had been tied to a three-year, $21.75MM contract. The team’s Trent Baalke-Doug Pederson regime, however, authorized that deal. The Liam Coen-James Gladstone partnership has moved off a few notable contracts held over from the previous staff, and the duo has bid farewell to Savage.

As a vested veteran, Savage will pass straight to free agency. The 2019 Packers first-round pick entered the season having started 82 games, having played both safety and the slot cornerback position as a pro. This offseason brought a three-year, $30MM Jourdan Lewis contract, however, leaving Savage to compete for the safety post Andre Cisco vacated upon signing with the Jets. Andrew Wingard, however, beat out Savage for that job.

The Jags have used Wingard and free agency addition Eric Murray as their starting safeties through two games. Savage played just 36% of Jacksonville’s defensive snaps in that time. Pro Football Focus graded him as a bottom-five safety in that short span. The team still has Antonio Johnson — who joined Wingard and Savage in the above-referenced training camp competition — and sixth-round rookie Rayuan Lane as backup options.

Savage secured $12.5MM guaranteed at signing last year, giving him considerable security. This came after he played out a five-year Packers rookie contract. That tenure involved a 2022 benching, and while Savage rebounded to a degree in 2023, Green Bay let him walk as a free agent. While Jacksonville pounced, that fit proving short-lived will force the 28-year-old DB to look for another landing spot.

Last season, Savage split time between safety and slot corner. PFF ranked him as a bottom-five safety in 2024. Even with the Jags losing Cisco, the Murray signing set up a competition. Wingard, despite coming off an injury-marred season, prevailed in that matchup. As a result, a former No. 21 overall pick becomes an interesting early-season free agency option.

Jets Add CB Nik Needham To Practice Squad

September 16th, 2025 at 8:54pm CST by Ben Levine

The Jets have added some veteran depth to their secondary. The team announced that they’ve signed defensive back Nik Needham to the practice squad. To make room, the team released kicker Harrison Mevis.

Needham burst onto the scene as an UDFA with the Dolphins in 2019, when he collected 54 tackles, 11 passes defensed, and a pair of picks. He settled into more of a part-time role in 2020 and 2021, although he still hauled in another four picks between those two seasons.

The defensive back started five of the first six games for Miami in 2022 before a torn Achilles ended his season early. When he returned in 2023, he was relegated to a bottom-of-the-depth-chart role, and he got into only a pair of games in 2024 while spending most of the campaign on the practice squad. Needham joined the Browns this past offseason before getting cut at the end of the preseason.

Michael Carter suffered a shoulder injury on Sunday that could put his Week 3 status in doubt, so Needham provides the organization with some extra veteran depth. Rookie third-round pick Azareye’h Thomas and 2024 fifth-round pick Qwan’tez Stiggers would likely get the first shot to soak up any leftover CB snaps.

The Jets weren’t finished. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston, the team also worked out veteran cornerback Arthur Maulet. The veteran spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons in New York, starting 11 of his 23 appearances.

Texans Sign DB Jalen Mills To Practice Squad

September 16th, 2025 at 8:14pm CST by Ben Levine

Jalen Mills is back in Houston. After being included among the team’s final preseason cuts, the veteran defensive back is signing with the Texans practice squad, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Mills brings plenty of experience to Houston’s taxi squad, as the 31-year-old has made 115 regular-season appearances during his career. A former seventh-round pick, Mills evolved into a full-time starter during his time in Philly, where he hauled in five interceptions across five seasons. After being limited to 17 combined games between 2018 and 2019, Mills rebounded with a 15-game showing in 2020.

Mills inked a four-year, $24MM deal with the Patriots ahead of the 2021 campaign and ended up spending three years with the organization. He was a starter through his first two seasons in New England but settled into more of a rotational role in 2023, when he collected 45 tackles in 17 games (eight starts).

He joined the Giants last offseason but didn’t make it to the regular season with his new squad. He joined the Jets in late September and proceeded to start eight of his nine appearances, tallying 44 stops, six passes defended, and one interception. He suffered an injured collarbone in December that ended his season prematurely.

Mills joined the Texans this past August but was cut by the team only a few weeks later. Mills brings some familiarity with DeMeco Ryans‘ defense, as the veteran is coming off a 2024 campaign where he played under Robert Saleh, another member of the 49ers coaching tree. The Texans will likely be counting on Mills to provide that veteran savviness during this current stint with the team, where he’ll serve as depth behind C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Calen Bullock, and M.J. Stewart.

To make room on the practice squad, the Texans cut wide receiver Silas Bolden and offensive tackle Jaylon Thomas, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/16/25

September 16th, 2025 at 7:42pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

  • Signed: LB Malik Hamm

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Commanders

  • Signed: G Tyler Cooper, WR Tay Martin
  • Placed on IR: G Darrian Dalcourt

The Steelers added a notable wide receiver to their taxi squad in Isaiah Hodgins. The wideout bounced between the Giants practice squad and active roster in 2024, but he’s not far removed from a stretch between 2022 and 2023 when he hauled in 58 catches for 622 yards and seven touchdowns. He’ll be joining a group of practice squad WRs that includes Rakim Jarrett and rookie Ke’Shawn Williams.

Speaking of the Giants, they added a veteran linebacker in Neville Hewitt. The 32-year-old has appeared in 146 games in time with the Dolphins, Jets, and Texans. His best season came with New York in 2020, when he compiled 134 tackles and a pair of sacks. He mostly saw a special teams role while in Houston, but he rebounded in 2024, tallying 59 tackles and a pair of forced fumbles in 17 games (four starts).

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