Wide receiver Brenden Rice is on to Green Bay.
According to multiple reports, the Packers have claimed Rice off of waivers. The Raiders waived Rice when they signed linebacker Cameron McGrone this week.
Rice, who is the son of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, joined the Raiders’ practice squad late last season. He also spent time on the practice squads of the Seahawks and Patriots after being waived by the Chargers in August.
Rice was a 2024 seventh-round pick by Los Angeles and he appeared in three games during his rookie season. He played three offensive snaps and 10 special teams snaps over those appearances.
The teams involved in the NFL’s first-ever Thanksgiving Eve game have been set.
Netflix will televise a game between the Packers and the Rams on Wednesday, November 25. The NFL also plans to hold three games on Thanksgiving and at least one game is expected to be played on Black Friday.
This is the second Rams game to be announced ahead of Thursday’s full schedule reveal. They will also face the 49ers in Melbourne, Australia in Week 1. That game will also be broadcast by Netflix.
It is the first Packers game to be revealed so far. If history is any guide, it will be one of multiple standalone games for Green Bay.
When Jaire Alexander stepped away from the Eagles last season, there was word that he planned to “focus on getting himself right physically and mentally before deciding on his future” as a player.
Alexander’s knee troubles led to the Packers releasing the cornerback after the 2024 season and he wrote in an essay for The Players Tribune that he struggled to deal with that release while likening the end of his seven-year run in Green Bay to a “divorce.” He signed with the Ravens, but had a poor outing in a season-opening loss to the Bills that left him “very, very embarrassed” and doubting his health. He would only play one more game as Baltimore deactivated him in order to try to recover on both fronts and eventually traded him to the Eagles.
Alexander wrote that he made the decision to step away without appearing in a game because his knee began troubling him again and that led to a repeat of doubts about his ability to do the job. He wrote that he “needed to listen to myself, and look out for myself, and put my well-being first.” Alexander’s essay outlines some of the ways he’s done that and whether he is considering a return to the field.
“People still sometimes ask me if I’m ever gonna come back and play,” Alexander wrote. “And, you know what . . . I’ll never say never — I still work out, and the knee’s fine now, so I’m in good shape. But for me, right now, the most important thing really is just to be in a good place overall. To be happy.”
Alexander had previously addressed his mental health and the detail he shares in the essay underlines how difficult last season was for him. His play when healthy in Green Bay would likely earn him a look if he does decide to play again, but it’s far from certain things will play out that way.
The Packers added a pair of players to their 90-man roster on Tuesday.
The NFL’s daily transaction report shows that they claimed cornerback M.J. Devonshire and tight end Luke Lachey off of waivers.
Devonshire was waived by the Bills this week. He was a 2024 seventh-round pick by the Raiders and has also spent time with the Panthers and Ravens without appearing in any regular season games.
Lachey was a seventh-round pick in Houston last year. He spent the entire season on the team’s practice squad and was dropped from the Texans’ roster when they added running back Evan Hull on Monday.
The Packers are moving on from their veteran kicker.
Green Bay is releasing Brandon McManus on Friday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
The club selected kicker Trey Smack out of Florida in the sixth round of last month’s draft.
McManus had been with Green Bay since 2024. While injuries limited him to 14 games, he hit 24-of-30 field goals in 2025 along with 32-of-33 extra points. He also missed two field goals and an extra point in the club’s playoff loss to the Bears.
As noted by Rob Demovsky of ESPN, Green Bay paid McManus a $1 million roster bonus in March.
McManus previously spent nine seasons kicking for the Broncos before kicking for Jacksonville in 2023. He’s hit 82.0 percent of his career field goal attempts and 97.4 percent of his extra points.
