Chargers Place OL Trey Pipkins On IR
The Chargers’ offensive line has been dealt another blow. Trey Pipkins has been placed on injured reserve, per a team announcement.
Pipkins is dealing with a knee injury, and today’s move ensures he will be absent for at least the next four games. The eighth-year veteran represents the latest injury along the interior of Los Angeles’ offensive line. Center Tyler Biadasz is out for the year, and his injury led to shuffling up front on the part of the Chargers.
Second-round rookie Jake Slaughter has handled starting duties at center through the first two weeks of the season, and that can be expected to continue. The left guard spot was wide open deep into training camp, though, with five candidates in place for a first-team gig at one point. Pipkins (who has seen considerable time at tackle among his 98 career appearances) was among them, although Kayode Awosika ultimately won out.
Awosika is dealing with an injury of his own at the moment. As a result, Trevor Penning may wind up starting at left guard for Week 3 and at least a short stretch beyond tomorrow’s game. The Bolts have started 0-2, and a difficult period on the schedule awaits. Improved play up front would certainly help the cause, but Pipkins will not be able to contribute on that front for the time being.
In a corresponding move, the Chargers have signed quarterback DJ Uiagalelei from the practice squad to their active roster. He could dress as the team’s emergency QB, although Trey Lance currently has a groin injury. That could result in Uiagalelei handling backup duties tomorrow.
Los Angeles also announced that tight end Patrick Herbert – the brother of quarterback Justin Herbert – has been designated a gameday elevation for tomorrow’s game against the Bills. Outside linebacker Caleb Murphy has been elevated from the taxi squad as well.
Thomas Harper Becomes Latest Lions S On Injured Lists
As the Lions await the eventual return of starting safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch, they continue to see attrition in the secondary. Ahead of Detroit’s Week 3 matchup with the Jets, the team placed safety Thomas Harper on injured reserve. To help fill out the depth of the position, veteran Jalen Mills will be called up as a standard gameday practice squad elevation alongside linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga.
There has been some recent optimism in the injury updates for Joseph and Branch. However close they are to returning, though, the fact that they started the season on the reserve/physically unable to perform list means they won’t be able to appear in a game until Week 5. With both starters out, the Lions have turned to veterans Chuck Clark and Avonte Maddox on the first-team defense with Harper getting plenty of snaps as a third safety.
Maddox exited Detroit’s Week 2 game early with an injury, and it was announced soon after that he would undergo season-ending foot surgery, robbing the Lions of yet another safety. Harper was the one to take up the mantle next to Clark with Maddox missing from the first-team defense last week, but an ankle injury kept him from practicing at all this week, and now, he’ll join Maddox on IR and will miss at least the next four games of the season.
With Maddox and Harper out, the only healthy players on the 53-man roster with snaps played at safety this year are Clark and Christian Izien. The Lions added Mills to their practice squad on Monday and signed undrafted USC rookie Bishop Fitzgerald off the Steelers’ practice squad the next day. They will join Izien and Clark this Sunday in a secondary that desperately needs bodies.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/26/26
Today’s minor moves heading into the third weekend of the NFL season:
Baltimore Ravens
- Elevated: S K’Von Wallace
Buffalo Bills
- Elevated: CB Te’Cory Couch
Carolina Panthers
- Signed from practice squad: LB Maema Njongmeta
- Elevated: WR David Moore, RB Anthony Tyus III
- Placed on IR: LB Claudin Cherelus
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed from practice squad: LB Joe Giles-Harris
- Elevated: TE Tanner Hudson
- Placed on IR: WR Andrei Iosivas (story)
Houston Texans
- Elevated: WR Lewis Bond, S George Odum
- Placed on IR: LB Jake Hummel
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed from practice squad: WR Anthony Gould
- Elevated: WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Elevated: LB Jalen McLeod
Kansas City Chiefs
- Elevated: LB Cole Christiansen, DE Tyreke Smith
Las Vegas Raiders
- Elevated: WR Cody White
Los Angeles Rams
- Elevated: RB Dean Connors, LB Elias Neal
Miami Dolphins
- Elevated: LB Liam Anderson, DE Clelin Ferrell
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed from practice squad: P Johnny Hekker
- Elevated: S Tavierre Thomas, OLB Kyle Van Noy
- Placed on IR: C Nick Samac
New England Patriots
- Elevated: S Mike Brown, DT Jeremiah Pharms Jr.
New Orleans Saints
- Elevated: WR Kevin Austin Jr., WR Jalen Moreno-Cropper
New York Giants
- Signed from practice squad: QB Jake Haener
- Elevated: WR Braxton Berrios, LB Malik Harrison
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed from practice squad: RB Travis Homer
- Elevated: RB Lew Nichols, CB Doneiko Slaughter
- Placed on IR: G Gennings Dunker
Seattle Seahawks
- Elevated: S Maxen Hook, RB Velus Jones Jr.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Elevated: S Ifeatu Melifonwu
Tennessee Titans
- Signed from practice squad: CB Erick Hallett
- Elevated: RB Michael Carter
- Waived: LB Owen Pappoe
Washington Commanders
- Elevated: LB Ale Kaho
With newly paid receiver Alec Pierce getting placed on injured reserve, the Colts are calling up some help from the practice squad in Gould and the veteran, Westbrook-Ikhine. Gould continues to work as a one of the team’s weapons on kickoff returns. Moreno-Cropper is another return man benefitting from the absence of a teammate. With Barion Brown ruled out this week, Moreno-Cropper should have some return opportunities with the Saints.
The Steelers are placing their red-headed rookie sensation on IR. A fan-favorite at the scouting combine this past spring, Dunker reportedly suffered an MCL sprain after getting rolled up in practice. Per Tom Pelissero of The Ringer, he won’t need surgery, but he’ll be out for four to six weeks. Vikings rookie punter Brett Thorson avoided an IR placement today, but Hekker’s promotion to the 53-man roster isn’t a great sign of things to come. They also now end up with two centers on IR as Samac joins Michael Jurgens. Hummel had been “week-to-week” as he deals with a groin injury suffered last week. He’ll now miss at least four games as the Texans make room on the 53-man roster by placing him on IR.
Also in Houston, this will be Odum’s third consecutive standard gameday practice squad elevation. Players can only be elevated three times on a practice squad contract, so if the Texans intend to see the special teams ace get any more game time after this week, they’ll have to sign him to the 53-man roster first. Other places getting elevated for the third time this weekend are Ferrell in Miami, Van Noy in Minnesota, Austin in New Orleans, Slaughter in Pittsburgh, Melifonwu in Tampa Bay, and Berrios and Harrison in New York. White also falls in this boat, but after he came down with two touchdown receptions in his second elevation last week, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see him signed to the 53-man roster soon.
Broncos Place RB Jonah Coleman On IR
The Broncos’ running back depth continues to be tested as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported today that rookie rusher Jonah Coleman has been placed on injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain. They expect the fourth-rounder out of Washington to be ready to come off IR after the minimum four missed games.
Denver came into the season with J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey expected to compete for carries on the first-team offense. Dobbins, the presumed starter, was coming off a season that reminded far too much of his injury-stained past. As a rookie second-round pick in Baltimore, Dobbins lived up to his draft stock, leading the position room in rushing yards (805) and touchdowns (9) while sharing touches with Gus Edwards and Mark Ingram. After appearing in 15 games in his first season, though, Dobbins only appeared in nine of a possible 51 games over the remainder of his rookie contract.
As a free agent addition in Los Angeles, Dobbins had a rebound season but was still only able to start 11 of 13 game appearances. With that playing time, he logged career highs in carries (195) and rushing yards (905) while matching the nine touchdowns from his rookie season. The next year, he arrived in Denver, and was only able to start nine of 10 game appearances, producing 772 rushing yards and four touchdowns. When Dobbins was out last year, Harvey stepped in as the starter. In his opportunity as a rookie second-rounder, the UCF product accounted for 540 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns, adding 356 yards and five touchdowns through the air.
After Denver’s season opener, Harvey was dealing with a hamstring injury that would ultimately hold him out of the team’s Week 2 contest. With Harvey out, the team leaned on Dobbins and Coleman, and Dobbins, at one point, appeared to suffer a hip injury. Coleman got the first touches of his young career, tallying 39 yards and and touchdown, but a high-ankle sprain added him to the injury report with his teammates and will now cost him four weeks of his rookie season.
The Broncos were able to see Dobbins and Harvey fully participate in practices on Thursday and Friday after being limited to start the week. With Coleman out for the foreseeable future, working with banged up versions of Dobbins and Harvey this early in the season is not ideal, but it’s better than nothing.
Taking Coleman’s spot on the 53-man roster is long snapper Mitchell Fraboni. Joining him off the practice squad as standard gameday elevations will be fullback Adam Prentice and wide receiver Kolbe Katsis, an undrafted rookie out of Northern Arizona with return experience. This will be Prentice’s third elevation, meaning that if the Broncos want him to play past this week, they’ll have to sign him to the 53-man roster first.
Cowboys Place S P.J. Locke On IR
The Cowboys continue to deal with attrition in the secondary. As part of the gameday moves for tomorrow’s Brazilian showdown with the Ravens, Dallas announced the placement of safety P.J. Locke on injured reserve. Taking Locke’s spot on the 53-man roster will be linebacker Justin Barron, whom the Cowboys are signing from the practice squad. Cornerback Reddy Steward will also come up from the practice squad for tomorrow, but he will do so as a standard gameday elevation.
Locke joined the Cowboys as a free agent this past offseason on a one-year, $5MM deal. As an undrafted free agent in 2019, Locke initially signed with the Steelers but landed on the Broncos’ taxi squad after failing to make the 53-man roster in Pittsburgh. After spending his rookie season on the practice squad, Locke got an opportunity early in Year 2 as an elevation and quickly earned a spot on the 53-man roster.
After working almost exclusively on special teams for two years, Locke started getting more looks on defense in 2022. The next year, after working his way back from a season-opening stint on IR, Locke worked his way up the depth chart, landing a full-time starting role by the end of the season. He continued in that role as a full-time starter in 2024, but a lackluster performance led to the team signing Talanoa Hufanga out of San Francisco and reverting Locke back to a backup role.
Locke started his first season in Dallas as a backup, but an injury early in the team’s Week 1 matchup sidelined starter Malik Hooker, pushing Locke into first-team duties, once again. Unfortunately, the early-game injury that offered him playing time came back to bite him the next week as he was diagnosed with torn plantar fascia after an early exit in Week 2. In Locke’s absence, the Cowboys employed Markquese Bell in his spot for the rest of the game.
Barron, an undrafted rookie out of Syracuse last year, has previously played in only three NFL games. Steward will be a decent addition to the secondary. He started five of 17 game appearances in Dallas last year.
Bills WRs D.J. Moore, Keon Coleman ’50/50′ For Week 3
The Bills’ offense hummed along during a 2-0 start, but the unit may go without a couple of key receivers in Week 3. D.J. Moore (shoulder) and Keon Coleman (ankle), who are listed as questionable, are truly “50/50” to face the winless Chargers on Sunday, according to Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network.
Moore, the Bills’ biggest offseason addition, made an immediate impact in their 36-31 win over the Texans in Week 1. Along with catching five balls for 100 yards and a touchdown, Moore drew a 46-yard pass interference penalty that set the Bills up at the Texans’ 1. Josh Allen found the end zone on a quarterback sneak two plays later, giving the Bills a 17-14 lead in the second quarter.
Moore was unable to follow up his auspicious Bills debut in Week 2, as he sprained his AC joint in the second quarter and did not return in a 41-31 win over Detroit. Even though Moore went without a catch, the Bills’ offense was noticeably less effective after he left. Buffalo averaged 9.1 yards per play when Moore was on the field and 5.0 when he wasn’t, Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic relays. Furthermore, the team’s rate of plays of 10 or more yards fell from 37.5% with Moore to 15.6% without him..
While helping to make up for Moore’s early exit, Coleman caught all six of his targets for 63 yards against the Lions. He was out of practice on Wednesday and Thursday, though he did return on a limited basis Friday. The third-year man has fallen short of expectations since the Bills took him 33rd overall in the 2024 draft, yet they continue to rely on him as an important part of their offense. Thanks in part to Moore’s abbreviated Week 2 appearance, Coleman leads Bills wideouts in offensive snap share this season (63.64%).
If Moore plays Sunday against the 0-2 Chargers, he will require a pregame shot, Wolfe reports. If he misses the game, it will be the former Panther and Bear’s first absence since 2020. In the event he and Coleman are unable to go, Khalil Shakir, Josh Palmer, Skyler Bell and Greg Dortch will comprise their top four wideouts. Bell was inactive for the Bills’ first two games, but they “feel good about” the fourth-round rookie, Wolfe says. The club could also elevate Trent Sherfield, Stephen Gosnell or Ja’Mori Maclin from its practice squad on Saturday to ensure it has five healthy options.
Regardless of the statuses of Moore and Coleman, the Bills figure to continue heavily featuring tight ends Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox and Jackson Hawes. The Bills have turned to three-TE sets more than every other team but the Rams, per Chris Trapasso of Buffalo Rumblings, and Kincaid has been one of the top pass-catching threats in the game so far. He has snagged 12 of 14 targets for 225 yards, the sixth-highest total in the league. Three of the receivers above him (the Packers’ Christian Watson and Matthew Golden and the Falcons’ Drake London) have played three games to Kincaid’s two.
Bears’ Tyson Bagent Returns To Practice; Caleb Williams Out For Week 3
1:55pm: To no surprise, the Bears have ruled Williams out for Week 3. Bagent is questionable.
12:14pm: Bears second-string quarterback Tyson Bagent entered the NFL’s concussion protocol on Tuesday, but he may not miss any action. Bagent advanced through the protocol and will practice on Saturday, head coach Ben Johnson announced (via Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times). However, as Adam Schefter of ESPN notes, he will need to go consecutive days without symptoms to receive full clearance.
Chicago will host Philadelphia on Monday night, giving Bagent extra time to recover from the head injury he suffered in a 9-3 loss to the Vikings last Sunday. Bagent came into the game late in the fourth quarter in relief of starting quarterback Caleb Williams, who strained his hamstring. Williams has not practiced this week, though the Bears have not ruled him out yet.
If Williams can’t go on Monday, it’ll be his first missed game since he entered the NFL as the No. 1 overall pick in 2024. Bagent, who went undrafted in 2023, made the only four starts of his career as a rookie. He completed 65.7% of passes, threw three touchdowns and six interceptions, and posted a 71.4 rating in five appearances that year.
Although Bagent attempted just two passes in his second season, the Bears gave him a two-year, $10MM extension in August 2025. He has only attempted 13 passes since then, most of which came in Week 2. Bagent went 5 for 9 for 54 yards against the Vikings, who denied the Bears’ last-gasp comeback attempt as time expired. Breakout edge defender Dallas Turner sacked Bagent at the Vikings’ 22-yard line on the final play of the game.
Bagent looks on track to start against the 2-0 Eagles, but if he and Williams are sidelined, the Bears will turn to 38-year-old journeyman Case Keenum. While Keenum is in his second year with the Bears, he has not taken a regular-season snap since Dec. 24, 2023, when he was a member of the Texans.
Lions To Sign DB Jalen Mills; Latest On S Kerby Joseph
SEPTEMBER 26: Despite Campbell’s discouraging comments, Joseph “fully intends to return this season,” according to The Ringer’s Tom Pelissero. Pelissero also reveals that Joseph missed part of training camp due to a personal issue that took him away from his rehab, but he is hoping to be available to play in the coming months.
SEPTEMBER 21: Monday has indeed brought about an addition in the secondary for the Lions. Jalen Mills was among the free agents who recently worked out with the team, and it has produced a deal.
Mills is signing with Detroit, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. This will be a practice squad deal, he adds. Mills made three appearances with the Lions in 2025, and he is now set up for a second stint in the Motor City.
Today’s news comes shortly after it was learned that fellow veteran DB Avonte Maddox will undergo season-ending foot surgery. Mills, 32, will look to serve as an experienced replacement. He has 126 appearances and 96 starts to his name between regular-season and playoff action in the NFL.
A full-time starter with the Eagles at various times and within the AFC East (Patriots, Jets) afterwards, Mills handled a much smaller defensive workload in 2025 in Houston and Detroit. The former seventh-rounder will look to carve out a role of some kind with the Lions aiming to improve from a defensive start which has included 71 points allowed in two games. In the meantime, the safety position will remain one without starters Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph.
Both players were expectedly moved to the reserve/PUP list during roster cuts. That means Branch and Joseph cannot return to game action until at least Week 5, although players on the PUP list are now eligible to practice after two weeks. Nevertheless, Joseph is not in position to practice as things stand. His recovery from a degenerative knee condition has not gone according to plan, and head coach Dan Campbell acknowledged on Monday that a pause in his rehab progress recently took place.
“I just know we were strengthening the knee and it wasn’t a setback but there was a little time there where we weren’t able to do everything we needed to do and so now we’re back at it,” Campbell said (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “And until we can get the knee to a certain point to where it feels strong, as strong as we can possibly get it and he feels comfortable, we’re not going to put him out there.”
Based on those comments, Joseph – who signed a four-year, $85MM extension last offseason – should not be expected to return any time soon. Getting Branch back would represent a boost, and it will be interesting to see when he manages to resume practicing after suffering an Achilles tear last year. In any case, Chuck Clark, Thomas Harper and Christian Izien are still in the fold. Mills will aim to join that group as someone who is signed to the active roster in short order or designated as a gameday elevation as early as Week 3.
Commanders QB Jayden Daniels Could Return Sooner Than Expected
Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels could return to practice – albeit with a bulky brace on his left arm – as soon as next week
Daniels, 25, dislocated his left elbow in Week 2 for the second time in a year. He was sidelined for about a month last season, but his 2026 absence may only last a few weeks after deciding not to undergo surgery. A Week 4 return might be more realistic if the Commanders were not playing in London, which will force the team to make a travel decision on Daniels early in the week.
Surgery would have sidelined the third-year quarterback for at least three months per Tom Pelissero of The Ringer, by which time Washington could be out of the playoff race after their 0-2 start. But unlike last year, when Daniels and the Commanders found no reason to go under the knife, there is a “strong chance he’ll have surgery after the season to tighten the elbow,” Pelissero adds.
Daniels may not have come back this season at all had he undergone surgery, according to Jonathan Jones of The Athletic, who concurs that a post-season procedure is a distinct possibility.
Jones also notes the long-term impact of Daniels’ injury. Pre-draft concerns about his durability have materialized in the NFL with extension-eligibility waiting just around the corner next offseason. The Commanders may not want to pay their young quarterback until they are confident in his health, both in terms of his recovery from potential elbow surgery and his ability to avoid additional injuries in the future.
If Daniels’ absence extends past a few games and Washington’s season starts to slip away as a result, player and club may both look to the future and consider shutting down his 2026 season. That would allow him to undergo surgery sooner rather than later, giving him a jump-start on the rehab process and potentially putting him in a position to negotiate an extension as soon as he is eligible next year.
Packers Sign G Laken Tomlinson
Looking to address a battered offensive line, the Packers are signing guard Laken Tomlinson off the Cowboys’ practice squad, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
The struggles of Green Bay’s O-line were on full display in a 35-14 loss to the Falcons on Thursday night. The unit, which went without left guard Aaron Banks and right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele, allowed 12 hits to quarterback Jordan Love and cleared the way for a meager 17 rushing yards on nine attempts.
Off to a 1-2 start, the Packers rank 26th in pressure rate and 31st in average time to throw, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. They’re a similarly disastrous 30th in yards per carry. To worsen matters, Bako-Bewele – the Packers’ best lineman – will miss the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery. The news isn’t as dire with Banks, who has a toe injury, but the team is nonetheless bringing in another veteran guard.
Tomlinson, whom the Lions took in the first round of the 2015 draft, played for five teams and amassed 162 starts in 173 appearances during his first 11 years in the NFL. The 34-year-old has spent nearly his entire career at left guard, Banks’ position. The Packers have used third-year man Jacob Monk as their starter on the right side, but it hasn’t gone well. Monk has allowed 11 pressures, the most among guards, according to Mark Chichester of Pro Football Focus.
Whether Tomlinson will start or provide an upgrade in Green Bay is in question, as the one-time Pro Bowler endured one of his worst years in 2025. Tomlinson opened the season as the Texans’ starting LG, but they demoted him to the bench after seven games and waived him in early December. He later caught on with the Ravens’ practice squad, though they never elevated him for any games. Tomlinson then sat in free agency from March until he joined the Cowboys’ practice squad on Sept. 9.
