Transactions News & Rumors

Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs Could Miss Week 3

The Cowboys have been ravaged by injuries in the secondary early this season. Trevon Diggs has managed to play both games in 2025, but he too could be unavailable tomorrow.

Diggs was added to Dallas’ injury report on Saturday with a knee ailment (h/t Sirius XM’s Adam Caplan). He is currently listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Bears. Being unavailable would leave the Cowboys without another key cornerback figure.

DaRon Bland is in the middle of recovering from a foot sprain. He is not seen as a candidate for injured reserve, meaning a return in the near future should be expected. Still, Bland will be out tomorrow, so Diggs being sidelined as well would leave the Cowboys without both of their perimeter starters. It is already known depth will be an issue, with third-round rookie Shavon Revel on the reserve/NFI list through at least Week 4. He could return when first eligible, something which would provide Dallas with at least one healthy contributor on the boundary.

Diggs was limited to just two games last season, and following knee surgery it was unclear through training camp whether or not he would be available for the start of the campaign. With Revel out of the picture and Caelen Carson injured as well, Diggs (27 today) has managed to play a key role early on. If that continues, he will help a Cowboys secondary which struggled mightily last week and boost his chances of remaining in place beyond the current season – after which his contract no longer contains guaranteed salaries.

It was reported last week the Cowboys were not eyeing a cornerback addition through free agency or trade in spite of their injury woes at the position. More recently, owner Jerry Jones has confirmed he is willing to part with at least some of the draft capital acquired in the Micah Parsons deal to pull off an an-season acquisition. Such a move would likely be aimed at the defensive side of the ball, although a return to health in the secondary could lessen the need for additions during the campaign.

With the likes of Bland, Revel and Carson out and Diggs’ status in question, it comes as little surprise both of Dallas’ gameday elevations for Week 3 are cornerbacks. Zion Childress and Robert Rochell are once again receiving the temporary call-up from the practice squad for tomorrow. That was also the case last week, so they will each have one elevation remaining after Sunday’s contest.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/20/25

Here are today’s minor moves and Week 3’s standard gameday practice squad elevations:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Elevated: T Tyler McLellan

Washington Commanders

There were some eyes on whether or not the Browns would add a kicker for the weekend after Andre Szmyt needed to undergo some MRI testing, but no such moves were made and Szmyt heads into the weekend without an injury designation. The team did report a workout with veteran kicker Matthew Wright, though, per Howard Balzer of CardsWire.

The 49ers will lose some additional offensive line depth as they place their intended swing tackle, Burford, on injured reserve. Additionally, with Martinez not getting signed to the active roster, it appears that injured starter Brock Purdy will not be active as an emergency option, as was rumored a bit yesterday. Purdy should be inactive as a result.

Herbig announced his retirement at the end of July after spending a good portion of the offseason with the Commanders. The 27-year-old was coming off a 2024 season in which he missed the entirety of the year with a shoulder injury. Washington’s release of Herbig from the reserve/retired list gives him an opportunity to sign with a new team as a free agent. There’s no guarantee that he’s headed anywhere specific, but he likely initiated the transaction in order to explore his options.

Titans Place DT T’Vondre Sweat On IR

The Titans defensive line took a larger hit than expected today when it was announced that the team was placing second-year nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat on injured reserve. He’ll now be forced to miss Tennessee’s next four games, at least.

A second-round pick out of Texas last year, Sweat was an impressive rookie, stepping in to start every game but one in his first year of NFL play. Among full-time starters on the defense, Sweat graded out as the team’s second-best defender, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), behind only his neighbor on the line, Jeffery Simmons.

Sweat had missed the Titans’ Week 2 matchup with an ankle injury but had been working his way back onto the field this week. Per NFL writer Paul Kuharsky, Sweat reinjured his ankle on Thursday, throwing his recovery progress off track. The severity of his ankle injury is unclear at the moment, but Tennessee placing him on IR indicates that it will take at least four weeks for Sweat to recover.

To help fill out the defensive line a bit, the Titans are calling up defensive tackle Carlos Watkins as a standard gameday practice squad elevation. Joining Watkins in that regard will be linebacker Kyzir White.

Practice squad offensive tackle John Ojukwu will also be active for Sunday’s game but as a member of the 53-man roster. With right tackle JC Latham set to miss his second straight game with a hip injury, Ojukwu will continue to fill in as the starter on that side. While Latham not being placed on IR indicates he may not be out for four weeks, signing Ojukwu to the active roster helps the Titans avoid the three-time elevation limit on a single practice squad contract, meaning they likely intend to utilize Ojukwu for more than just three games.

Falcons Promote John Parker Romo, Release Younghoe Koo

The Falcons have made their Week 2 kicking change permanent by signing John Parker Romo to the active roster and releasing Younghoe Koo, per Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Koo missed a game-tying field goal as time expired in Week 1, leading Atlanta to explore other kicking options last week. Romo earned a spot on the practice squad with a tryout and was elevated to start in Week 2. He delivered with a perfect 5-for-5 performance on field goals with a long of 54 yards. Along with an extra point, Romo scored 16 of Atlanta’s 22 points in their victory over the Vikings.

It seemed clear after the game that Romo had earned another start, but the Falcons seem to believe they’ve found a long-term starter. Not only did they replace Koo with Romo on the active roster – solidifying his starting status for the rest of the season – they also handed him a two-year contract to prevent another kicker-needy team from scooping him up next offseason.

Romo is now up to 16 makes on 17 attempts in his career after going 11-for-12 in four games for the Vikings last season. Koo, meanwhile, will leave Atlanta after six seasons and 93 appearances for the Falcons. Despite a down year in 2024, which included a 73.5% field goal conversion rate and six misses inside 50 yards, the team did not bring in any veteran competition for training camp.

That changed quickly after Koo faltered in Week 1, and he will now hit free agency with the hopes of catching onto with another team that is looking for a new kicker, either due to injury or poor performance. Koo still owns a solid 85.8% conversion rate in his career, though he will have to convince a new suitor that his last year-and-a-half was an aberration.

This release will create more than $2MM in Falcons dead money, stemming from the four-year, $24.25MM extension Koo had signed. That contract ran through 2026. Koo, who caught on with the Falcons after washing out quickly with the Chargers, will look for a third chance in his age-31 season.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/19/25

Here are today’s practice squad transactions in the NFL:

Chicago Bears

  • Released from practice squad/injured list (with injury settlement): DE Xavier Carlton

Seattle Seahawks

With White getting released from the 53-man roster today and brought back to the practice squad, the rookie out of Miami becomes a free agent. Martinez himself has been dropped and brought back to the practice squad in Seattle before, so he may be a candidate to return if things open up again.

NFL Minor Transactions: 9/19/25

Here is today’s only minor NFL transaction:

Seattle Seahawks

White appears to be a frequent flier back and forth on the Seahawks’ roster and practice squad. Shortly after working as a return man on kickoffs in Week 1, White was released and immediately signed to the practice squad to make room for another player on the 53-man roster. That player was released on Wednesday, allowing White to move back up to the active roster, but now White appears to be headed back to the practice squad, opening up a spot on Seattle’s roster for this weekend.

NFL Restructures: Simmons, Johnson, CJGJ, Ward, Smith

The Titans recently gave Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons a $633K raise to rectify a miscalculation of his fifth-year option, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.

The Titans drafted Simmons with the 19th overall pick in the 2019 draft, and after 8.5 sacks and his first Pro Bowl in 2021, the team knew they had a long-term anchor for their defensive line. Tennessee picked up Simmons’ fifth-year option during the 2022 offseason and signed him to a $94MM extension the following year. That extension was meant to include the fifth-year option, but the deal undercounted his 2023 salary by one game, resulting in a $633K shortage.

Simmons’ agent discovered the error, and the Titans agreed to rectify the mistake with a signing bonus, according to Florio. The adjusted contract is not considered an extension.

A few other players from the 2019 draft class who signed extensions off their fifth-year options had a similar miscalculation in their deal. As a result, Simmons’ new deal could set a precedent around the league with other players seeking similar retroactive payments.

  • The Bears restructured the contract of cornerback Jaylon Johnson to create $8MM of cap space, per ESPN’s Field Yates. $12MM of his 2025 salary was converted to a signing bonus and prorated across the three remaining years of the deal. Chicago made the move before Johnson went down with a groin injury that could end his season.
  • The Texans completed a maximum restructure of safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson‘s deal to reduce his cap hit to $3.1MM, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. His $7.75MM salary was reduced to the veteran minimum with the remaining $6.58MM converted into a signing bonus and prorated across the remainder of the contract, which includes void years from 2027 to 2030.
  • The Browns also did a maximum restructure with cornerback Denzel Ward‘s contract, per ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi. His salary was also reduced to the veteran minimum with $12.22MM converted into a signing bonus. As a result, his 2025 cap hit dropped by $9.78MM to $14.78MM, per OverTheCap.
  • In another AFC North restructure, the Ravens converted $12MM of linebacker Roquan Smith‘s 2025 salary that was prorated across the three remaining years of his deal. The move cleared $8MM in cap space, according to Russell Street Report’s Brian McFarland.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/18/25

Here are the latest practice squad transactions from around the league:

Baltimore Ravens

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

After losing Nick Samac from their practice squad this week, the Ravens reunited with Mustipher. He started two games in place of Tyler Linderbaum during his first stint in Baltimore in 2023. Mustipher will take Samac’s place as the team’s third-string center.

Panthers To Place G Robert Hunt, C Austin Corbett On IR

September 18: Hunt underwent successful surgery in California this week, per Joe Person of The Athletic, but the team has not provided any updates regarding his return timetable.

A torn biceps could be season-ending, but Bills linebacker Matt Milano suffered a similar injury in training camp last year and was back on the field at the end of November. However, the specific nature of Hunt’s injury and the different physical requirements for his position will be major factors in his recovery timeline.

September 15: As expected, the Panthers will be shorthanded up front for a lengthy period. Guard Robert Hunt and center Austin Corbett are both headed to injured reserve, head coach Dave Canales confirmed on Monday.

Hunt suffered a torn left biceps during yesterday’s game. Surgery will be required as a result, meaning he could very well be lost for the season. The shift to IR ensures a four-game absence at a minimum, but for both Hunt and Corbett a much longer absence is in store.

Corbett suffered an MCL injury during Carolina’s Week 2 contest. Canales noted the extent of the ailment was initially unclear (with a sprain being a possibility), but he later specified (via ESPN’s David Newton) this is a case of a Grade C injury. That represents a complete tear, meaning surgery will also be required for Corbett. Canales has left the door open for a late-season return in both cases, but it would come as a surprise if either were to be available again in 2025.

The Panthers made continuity a priority along the O-line this offseason. Corbett and fellow center Cade Mays were retained, while longtime right tackle Taylor Moton inked a two-year extension shortly before the start of the campaign. Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu is still in the fold, as is left guard Damien LewisWith a number of depth options returning as well, Carolina’s top nine contributors up front in terms of snaps from 2024 are in the fold.

Given today’s injury news, that depth and familiarity will be called upon early. Mays is set to take over from Corbett at center after falling short in this year’s training camp competition for the gig. Canales said Chandler Zavala, meanwhile, will receive the first opportunity to take on the right guard position. The 2023 fourth-rounder made seven total starts across his first two seasons with Carolina, and that figure is now set to increase.

Hunt remains under contract through 2028, so the Pro Bowler’s future with the team is not in questions. Corbett, on the other hand, missed considerable time in each of the past two years. Yet another significant injury will hurt the pending free agent’s chances of being retained this spring along with his market value for any outside teams which show interest.

Chargers Promote S Tony Jefferson

The Chargers promoted veteran safety Tony Jefferson from the practice squad to the active roster, per a team announcement.

In Week 2, Jefferson started in place of Elijah Molden, who was sidelined by a hamstring injury. Molden has yet to practice this week, so Jefferson will likely get the starting nod once again after a solid game on Sunday. He made five tackles, defended two passes, and reeled in an interception on a deep ball just before halftime.

Jefferson was still eligible for two elevations from the practice squad, but the Chargers had an open roster spot after placing Khalil Mack on injured reserve earlier this week. The team could move him back to the practice squad if needed, but more strong showings from Jefferson could keep him in the mix even when Molden returns to the field.

It’s another step in an impressive journey for the former UDFA just two years after he retired from the NFL nine seasons in the NFL, primarily with the Cardinals and Ravens. Jefferson took a scouting fellowship with the latter team after initially hanging up his cleats, but he launched a comeback in 2024. Los Angeles was a natural destination given his history with new Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz, who came up in Baltimore’s front office and added several other former Ravens during his first year in charge.

The Chargers also signed outside linebackers Clelin Ferrell and Rashad Weaver to the practice squad. Ferrell never lived up to his billing as the No. 4 overall selection in 2019, but he has started 27 games over the last two years with a total of seven sacks and 10 tackles for loss. Weaver, originally a Titans fourth-round pick in 2021, put up 5.5 sacks in 2022 but was otherwise a rotational contributor during his time in Tennessee. He spent the 2024 season with the Texans, but only played 18 defensive snaps during the regular season.