The Cowboys added cornerback DaRon Bland to the injury report Friday. He is questionable with an ankle injury after limited work in practice.

The team's other starting cornerback, Joey Porter Jr., is also questionable. Porter returned to the practice field Friday with limited work.

The Cowboys ruled out outside linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku (ankle), tight end Jake Ferguson (knee/ankle), running back Tyler Goodson (knee/ankle), safety P.J. Locke (concussion) and wide receiver Jonathan Mingo (ankle/foot).

Safety Juanyeh Thomas (hamstring) is doubtful.

Defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard (calf), safety Alijah Clark (illness) and cornerback Devin Moore (hip) are questionable.

Wide receiver George Pickens (hamstring) and linebacker DeMarvion Overshown (hamstring/back) do not have an injury designation.

The 49ers will see the return of wide receiver Deebo Samuel.

Samuel had a full practice Friday and has no injury designation.

He has missed the past two games with his injury, last playing on Oct. 11 against the Seahawks.

The 49ers will play a second consecutive game without wide receiver Mike Evans (Achilles) as the team ruled him out after another week spent rehabbing.

They list cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (foot), cornerback Renardo Green (back), left tackle Trent Williams (shoulder), cornerback Upton Stout (shoulder), linebacker Dre Greenlaw (knee), cornerback Nate Hobbs (adductor) and defensive tackle C.J. West (knee) as questionable.

Giants coach John Harbaugh defended running back Cam Skattebo, who stayed in his stance on a crucial Jameis Winston quarterback sneak during Thursday night's loss to the Commanders.

Harbaugh said the call was a quarterback sneak but not a tush push, and Skattebo wasn't supposed to be pushing Winston.

"We had a certain check involved in it, so he wasn’t supposed to be up there pushing. We didn't call the same [QB sneak] that we've been calling," Harbaugh said, via Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. "What else am I supposed to say? He wasn't supposed to be up there pushing."

Why the Giants wouldn't want Skattebo to push Winston in an attempt to get the first down yardage is unclear, but the play looked strange, and it was a big one for the Giants, who had a 21-17 lead late in the fourth quarter at the time, but couldn't hold the lead after getting stuffed on that quarterback sneak and lost 24-21.

The sudden nationwide ground stop ordered by the FAA will potentially impact this weekend's football games.

It's only the second nationwide ground stop since 9/11. It's apparently due to a widespread outage impacting air-traffic control functions.

Visiting NFL teams typically travel to the sites of their games on Saturday; if the situation lingers, some teams may not be able to get to where they need to be. More immediately, college teams that travel on Friday have a mess.

As noted by Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, the 49ers usually travel on Friday for games that are at least two time zones away. For Sunday's game against the Cowboys, they plan to travel on Saturday.

Some teams can get to the locations of their games by car or train. The distance from Minneapolis to Green Bay is 279 miles. For Buffalo to New Jersey (for Bills-Jets), it's also less than 300 miles.

It's roughly 290 miles fom Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, and 373 miles from L.A. to Phoenix.

For the other games (particularly Chargers-Ravens on Monday night), it's a long way to go via ground transportation.

Center Hjalte Froholdt will miss his first start since joining the Cardinals in 2023. Froholdt did not clear concussion protocol, ruling him out for Sunday's game against the Rams.

Froholdt had started all possible 60 games since signing as a free agent.

The Cardinals will also play without offensive lineman Jon Gaines II (ankle). That means Hayden Conner will start at center.

Defensive lineman Zach Carter, who has had three limited practices since coming off injured reserve with a knee injury, is also out.

The Cardinals list tight end Hunter Long (knee), defensive lineman Roy Lopez (toe/ankle), cornerback Max Melton (knee/hand), defensive lineman Darius Robinson (wrist), left tackle Jayden Williams (knee) and safety Dewey Wingard (groin) as questionable.

Lopez returned to practice on Friday, as did Robinson, who was a DNP on Thursday. Robinson had a wrap on his wrist.

Long would have to be activated to the 53-player roster by Saturday afternoon if he is to return this week.

Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell wouldn't commit to Kirk Cousins as the team's starter earlier this week. O'Connell made it official on Friday, though, announcing Cousins will start against the Packers.

The Vikings acquired Cousins from the Raiders at Tuesday's trade deadline, in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick. He practiced with the team Thursday and Friday, but Cousins' familiarity with the offense allowed him to step right into the starting job.

Cousins was with the Vikings from 2018-23, the last two years with O'Connell. The two were also together in 2017 with Washington.

Kyler Murray started six games before he injured his hamstring. Carson Wentz started Monday night's loss to the Bills and had the worst game by a Vikings' starting quarterback since 2006.

Murray is ruled out for Sunday's game after not practicing all week.

The Vikings also ruled out linebacker Blake Cashman (concussion), tight end T.J. Hockenson (wrist/chest), defensive lineman Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins (ankle) and wide receiver Jauan Jennings (calf).

Outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy (calf), wide receiver Jordan Addison (thumb) and safety Josh Metellus (shoulder) are questionable.

The Texans will be without at least one of their top edge rushers for Sunday's game against the Browns.

There's a chance both will not be able to play.

Houston has listed defensive end Danielle Hunter (hamstring) as out and Will Anderson Jr. (ankle) as questionable for the contest.

Hunter and Anderson were both limited on Thursday and did not participate on Friday. That Anderson is questionable and Hunter has been ruled out suggests Hunter’s injury is more significant.

There are a few more players who have been ruled out for Houston: linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (groin/personal), receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (hamstring), tight end Brevin Jordan (finger/foot), and offensive lineman Keylan Rutledge (neck/shoulder).

Aside from Anderson, offensive tackle Trent Brown (illness/wrist), guard Wyatt Teller (back/illness), linebacker Jacob Hummel (groin), cornerback Jaylin Smith (hamstring), and running back David Montgomery (groin) are questionable.

Safety Reed Blankenship (concussion/hand), receiver Tank Dell (hand/shoulder), offensive tackle Blake Fisher (thumb), defensive tackle Tommy Togiai (elbow/shoulder), and running back Woody Marks (knee) are all off the injury report and are set to play.

Bills right tackle Spencer Brown (ankle) is doubtful for Sunday's game against the Jets.

Brown missed the Week 8 win over the Ravens with a back injury but returned for Monday night's win over the Vikings and played 77 of 80 snaps before his injury.

He had limited work Wednesday before sitting out Thursday and Friday. Tylan Grable will start another game if Brown can't go.

"As always, I still feel the same with a guy like Spencer, so we'll see what it looks like tomorrow. That's why we're not ruling him out," Bills coach Joe Brady said Friday, via Alec White of the team website.

Cornerback Christian Benford (wrist), defensive back Sam Franklin Jr. (shoulder), wide receiver Tyrell Shavers (knee) and defensive back Jordan Hancock (hamstring) are questionable. Shavers is in his 21-day return-to-practice window.

Left tackle Dion Dawkins (ribs) and left guard Alec Anderson (ankle) are on track to play Sunday, with full participation on Friday and no injury designation.

Falcons defensive end James Pearce Jr. is questionable for Sunday's game against the Chiefs.

Pearce made his season debut on Sunday after serving an eight-game suspension. He played only 15 snaps in the loss to the Bengals after his back tightened up late last week.

He had no stats.

Pearce sat out Wednesday's practice before limited work Thursday and Friday.

The Falcons ruled out wide receiver Zachariah Branch (hamstring) and list linebacker Divine Deablo (forearm) as doubtful.

Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. (illness) and linebacker Josh Woods (ankle) are questionable.

The Chiefs officially list running back Kenneth Walker as questionable for Sunday.

Walker tweaked his groin sometime this week, coach Andy Reid said, and the fifth-year pro sat out Friday's practice.

"We're feeling it out just to see," Reid said, via Nate Taylor of TheAthletic.com. "We're not going to put him at risk. If he can go, he'll go. If he can't, he can't."

Walker leads the league with 109.0 rushing yards per game this season. He has 872 rushing yards with seven rushing touchdowns in eight games, and he's caught 26 passes for 172 yards with four touchdowns.

Running back Jaydn Ott is also questionable with a hamstring injury.

Rookie Emmett Johnson will start if Walker can't play.

The Chiefs also gave rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane (shoulder) a questionable designation, but he had a full practice Friday. Delane was questionable to play Week 8 with the injury and was ruled out last week. He was inactive for both games.

Delane has not played since an Oct. 25 loss to the Broncos.

The Chiefs ruled out offensive lineman Jaylon Moore (ankle), defensive lineman Peter Woods (neck) and defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott (knee). Norman-Lott is in his 21-day return-to-practice window.

The Rams are listing Myles Garrett as questionable for Sunday's rematch with the Cardinals, but the club is still expecting him to play.

Garrett will not practice on Friday, head coach Sean McVay said in his press conference, as Los Angeles is trying to keep him at his best.

"He’s feeling good," McVay said, via Gary Klein of the L.A. Times. "It's more of getting him feeling as good as possible. He’s a had a really good week, played a bunch of snaps, and expect him to be able to build on that, but we’re being smart with him."

Garrett was plenty impactful last week in his return from a knee procedure, picking up 3.0 sacks and a forced fumble.

Additionally, cornerback Trent McDuffie (back) and safety Kam Curl (toe) will be listed as questionable for the game after being limited in practice on Friday.

Guard Steve Avila (hamstring) and tight end Terrance Ferguson (ankle/hamstring) have been ruled out.

Say goodbye to Philadelphia.

Receiver Hollywood Brown, who was available in trade but had no takers, will now be released at his request, via Tim McManus of ESPN.

Thanks to a "noninjury settlement" (which presumably includes Brown waiving his right to termination pay), Brown will be released. Because the trade deadline has passed, Brown's contract will be subject to waivers.

Brown signed a one-year deal with a $3.7 million signing bonus and a $1.3 million base salary. In addition to waiving his right to termination pay, Brown possibly agreed to return a portion of the bonus money.

A first-round pick of the Ravens in 2019, Brown appeared in only four games for the Eagles, with one start. He caught five passes for 63 yards.

Brown spent three years with the Ravens. In 2022, he was traded to the Cardinals. After two seasons in Arizona, he spent 2024 and 2025 with the Chiefs.

The minimum base salary could prompt another team to make a waivers claim — especially if that team would be willing to pay more than the prorated minimum to add him to the roster for the rest of the season.

Brown's best year came in 2021, with 91 catches for 1,008 yards and six touchdowns.

The Eagles are releasing veteran offensive tackle Fred Johnson, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports.

The move comes shortly after veteran receiver Hollywood Brown requested his release, and the sides reached a non-injury settlement.

The Eagles have seen an overhaul of their offensive line this season.

Johnson was serving as a backup to rookie Markel Bell at right tackle since the in-season retirement of Lane Johnson. He saw action in seven games this season, playing 24 offensive snaps and 22 on special teams.

Johnson, 29, returned on a one-year contract this offseason.

He originally joined the Eagles in 2023, playing 58 games with 14 starts.

There is a potentially significant injury situation brewing with the Chiefs.

Head coach Andy Reid told reporters in his Friday press conference that running back Kenneth Walker sat out Friday's practice after reporting tightness in his groin.

"We’ll just see how he feels through this afternoon with rehab and through tomorrow," Reid said. "Somewhere he tweaked it. So, we’ll see. ... He was tight this morning."

While Reid did not explicitly say a game status, it sounds as if Walker will be questionable.

"We’re kind of feeling it out just to see where we’re at with that thing," Reid said. "We’re not going to put him at risk or anything like that — that’s not how we roll. So, if he can go, he can go. If he can’t, he can’t."

Walker leads the league averaging 109.0 rushing yards per game. He’s tallied a total of 872 yards with seven rushing touchdowns in eight games. He’s also caught 26 passes for 172 yards with four TDs.

If Walker is not able to play, rookie Emmett Johnson would be in line to start and carry the load.

“Yeah, if Emmett has to do it, then we all have [confidence],” Reid said. “He’s going to play anyway, whether Ken’s there or not there, he’s gonna play. But everybody has confidence in him, yeah.”

Johnson has 111 rushing yards on 26 carries with a touchdown and 14 receptions for 237 yards with a TD so far this year.

Kansas City’s full injury report with game statuses will be released later in the day.

When the Titans face the Jaguars on Sunday, Robert Saleh and Liam Coen will coach against each other for the first time since their run-in last year, when they exchanged words on the field over something Saleh, then the defensive coordinator of the 49ers, said something about Coen that Coen didn't appreciate.

Last year, Saleh said that Coen's team was good at stealing signals, intending it as a compliment for how good they are at recognizing what the opposing defense was doing. Coen interpreted it as an accusation of cheating and confronted Saleh on the field after the game.

Today Saleh was asked about that, and he said he and Coen have spoken and there are no hard feelings.

“Liam’s great, man," Saleh said. "We’ve had plenty of interactions. The whole thing is what it was, a little misunderstanding, poor words on my part. But they’re doing a great job. I love what they're doing offensively. They've definitely got an identity. And then [defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile] on the other side. Overall as an organization, they've done a really nice job."

Coen's confrontational approach toward Saleh after the game last year seemed like an overreaction, but no one can dispute that Coen has done a great job building the Jaguars. Saleh knows he's going up against a good coach on Sunday, and he won't provide any bulletin-board material.

Thursday night's game between the Commanders and the Giants introduced a new wrinkle to the legend of Jameis Winston.

While attempting to get the Washington defense to jump offside on a fourth-and-one play in the fourth quarter, Jameis capped his pre-snap call with, "Who let the dogs out?"

He capped it with four barks.

The move invited curiosity as to whether Jameis was simply being Jameis and seizing on the moment, or whether coach John Harbaugh knew that the homage to the Baha Men was part of the plan.

"Yeah, I knew that," Harbaugh told reporters. "That was part of the cadence, yeah. That's part of the cadence. You know, teams do jump in those situations sometimes. So that was the idea."

He's right. It seems like at least once a week a defense jumps when it knows it shouldn't. And it doesn't take much to spark the desired reaction.

Last night, it's possible that the specific cadence could have prompted one of the defenders to start laughing loud enough to tumble forward in his stance.

Regardless, it was fun. And that's when football is at its best — when it's fun.

Former Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III is interested in coaching his former college team. And his former college team is sufficiently interested in Griffin to talk to him about it.

Via Pete Nakos of On3.com, Griffin is "expected to interview" for the vacant position.

Griffin, who won the Heisman Trophy at Baylor in 2011 before becoming the second overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft, has no coaching experience, but that hasn't been an impediment for former NFL players in recent years. Most recently, NC State hired former Wolfpack and NFL quarterback Philip Rivers, even though he has no college coaching experience. (Rivers spent the last six seasons as a high-school coach in Alabama.)

Other former players who have become college head coaches include Deion Sanders, Eddie George, and Mike Vick.

Getting an interview and getting the job are obviously two very different things. Still, Griffin has a foot in the door. Without that, it's impossible to get an invitation to the table.

The Cardinals are investing further in the tight end position.

Tight end Elijah Higgins has agreed to a three-year extension, according to a joint report from ESPN and NFL Network.

Higgins’ deal is worth up to $26.8 million and puts him under contract through 2029.

A sixth-round pick in 2023, Higgins was waived by the Dolphins at roster cuts as a rookie. But he was claimed by the Cardinals and has been with the club ever since.

Higgins has played 54 games with 23 starts, tallying 82 catches for 798 yards with four touchdowns.

Playing alongside start tight end Trey McBride, Higgins has 18 receptions for 162 yards with a touchdown in nine games so far in 2026.

NC State has made it official: Philip Rivers is the football program's new head coach.

After word emerged Rivers was the frontrunner to land the job, his alma mater announced his hiring on Friday.

"I am humbled and honored to be the next head football coach at NC State University," Rivers said in a statement. "In many ways, I feel like I'm coming home. This is where it all began for me as an 18-year-old kid from Alabama, and now to return to this great place as head coach is beyond words.

"I gave it everything I had here as a player for 51 games and I will give it everything I have as the coach. There's no denying that this is going to take hard work, but we're not scared of hard. I look forward to getting after it every single day with an unbelievable coaching staff and a group of players who are dedicated to relentlessly pursuing victory.”

Rivers, who came out of retirement to play for the Colts down the stretch last year, became a high school coach in Alabama in 2021. This will be his first coaching job at the college or pro level, though he interviewed for the Bills’ vacancy in the offseason.

Rivers replaces longtime coach Dave Doeren, who was fired in October. He had been with the Wolfpack since 2013.

The Patriots have several players listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Lions in Madrid.

A.J. Brown (ankle/knee) and running back Rhamondre Stevenson (knee) are among them.

Brown was listed as limited on all three injury reports this week. Stevenson was limited on Thursday and Friday after he was a non-participant on Wednesday.

Safety Kevin Byard (chest), fullback Reggie Gilliam (knee), tight end Cameron Latu (back), offensive lineman Walter Rouse (concussion protocol), offensive lineman Greg Van Roten (hamstring), and cornerback Charles Woods (hamstring) are also questionable.

Offensive tackle Morgan Moses (foot), tight end Hunter Henry (foot), and quarterback Drake Maye (right shoulder) are all off the injury report and are set to play.

Offensive lineman Ben Brown (knee), cornerback Carlton Davis (knee), and running back TreVeyon Henderson (illness) were ruled out earlier this week as they didn’t travel to Europe.

The Texans have made a couple of roster moves on Friday.

Houston announced the team has claimed receiver/returner Nikko Remigio off of waivers.

The Chiefs let Remigio go earlier this week.

In his fourth season, Remigio averaged 26.5 yards per kick return and 5.6 yards per punt return this season for Kansas City.

As a corresponding move, the Texans have released running back Dare Ogunbowale, who is subject to waivers now that the trading deadline has passed.

Officially, Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is questionable for Sunday's game against the Patriots in Germany with a rib injury. Unofficially, it is extraordinarily unlikely that St. Brown would miss this game.

St. Brown has always been more than willing to play through injuries, and this game means a lot to him because his mother is German, he speaks fluent German, and he has been circling this game on his calendar as an important one for him personally.

Three Lions have been ruled out: safety Kerby Joseph, center Cade Mays and cornerback DJ Reed. Joining St. Brown as questionable is running back Sione Vaki.

Other Lions dealing with injuries this week are quarterback Jared Goff, safety Brian Branch, running back Jacob Saylors and pass rusher DJ Wonnum, but they all practiced in full the last two days and will be good to go on Sunday.

It sounds like Jets receiver Garrett Wilson is on track to return to action on Sunday.

Head coach Aaron Glenn said that Wilson has just one more step of concussion protocol to clear and he's confident the wideout will do so.

"I see that happening," Glenn said.

Wilson missed last week's game while in the protocol. He has caught 43 passes for 527 yards with three touchdowns so far this year.

Glenn noted that everyone else aside from linebacker Trevin Wallace (groin) is expected to practice in full on Friday.

That includes rookie receiver Omar Cooper, who has been listed as limited on the first two injury reports of the week with an ankle issue.

New York’s final injury report of the week with game statuses is due out later on Friday.

Giants running back Cam Skattebo stayed in his stance and didn't participate in the play on a key short-yardage snap late in the Giants' loss on Thursday night.

With the Giants leading 21-17 and 3:56 remaining in the fourth quarter on Thursday night, they faced a third-and-1 and sent Jameis Winston in for a quarterback sneak. A first down would have given the Giants a great chance at a long, clock-draining drive. Instead they were stopped, punted, and ended up losing.

As Winston plowed into the line, Skattebo was behind him and could have run in to try to push him forward to gain a yard. Instead, Skattebo stayed in his stance, and by the time he actually got involved in the play, the Commanders had stopped Winston's forward progress.

It's unclear why Skattebo didn't do anything, and he wasn't asked about it after the game. But at a time when every team in the league is well aware of the value of teammates pushing the quarterback forward on sneaks, it was a bizarre play, and one that proved costly for the Giants.

Two of Jacksonville's deadline acquisitions will not be on the field for the club this weekend.

Jaguars head coach Liam Coen told reporters in his Friday press conference that safety Jessie Bates and defensive tackle Jordan Davis will sit out Sunday's matchup against the Titans because they did not have a bye week with their previous teams. Davon Godchaux, who did have a bye, is set to play.

"Want to be able to make sure [that with] player safety, putting them in a position to succeed, also learn the system, and just give those guys a week to be able to do that," Coen said.

Coen added that the club had been talking about doing that this week and made the final decision to rest the players on Friday.

The head coach has been impressed with all of the acquisitions so far.

"Yeah, I mean, Jesse Bates has been here until about 10:30 every night, which has been pretty cool seeing him in there learning, grinding, working through it," Coen said. "There’s obviously so much that safeties have to be able to communicate and operate with in the backend of the entire structure. I’ve really appreciated the way him, Jordan, and Davon have all gone through the work week. Obviously, Davon and Jesse have been through different organizations, teams, moves — this is new for Jordan. And he’s worked his tail off with the strength and conditioning and sports science, athletic training guys this week. And he’s putting his best foot forward to hopefully be able to get out next week for us."

The Jaguars will be on the road to face the Giants in Week 11, where Davis and Bates will make their respective debuts.

If Troy Aikman exits broadcasting after this season (last month, he put the chance at "50-50") and if Aikman lands a key position in a front office, the name at the top of his head-coaching wishlist will already be known.

Via Brandon Contes of Awful Announcing, Aikman said during a Thursday appearance on 96.7 The Ticket in Dallas that, if he were running an NFL team, he would try to hire 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan.

“I’ve been asked a lot of questions here, certainly over the last several weeks, about any aspirations that I may have of going in a front office,” Aikman said. “Or ‘Who would you hire as your head coach?’ If I was in a position to hire someone as a head coach, [the] first call I’d make is to the 49ers and say, ‘How much is it going to take to get Kyle Shanahan? Because I think he’s that good. And yes, I’ve always believed this, but coaching matters and it has an impact on an organization.”

It's not tampering because Aikman currently isn't running a team. (It could technically be "tampering light" if he's still working for the Dolphins.) And the information gives Shanahan plenty of leverage in his dealings with the 49ers, if Aikman joins the likes of Matt Millen, John Lynch, and John Elway as former players with little or no front-office experience who find themselves working in high-level jobs with a team.

Aikman has previously made similar comments about Shanahan, in the context of the Bears' latest coaching vacancy.

“There has been discussion about, ‘Do you give up some picks and see if you can maybe make a deal for a guy like Kyle Shanahan?’" Aikman said during a game in 2024. "I would be all in on that. Because he would develop a quarterback, and he’s a hell of a head coach. But can you pull that off? That’s a better question. And who might you hire that has no head-coaching experience as an offensive guy? You never know the answer to that, as to how good they’re gonna be.”

While it seems to be working out pretty well for the Bears and their head coach who had no head-coaching experience, the point remains that Aikman would try to hire Shanahan, if Aikman is ever in a position to hire a coach.

And there's one last twist to this story that currently isn't known. When Aikman was consulting with the Dolphins during their latest search for a G.M. and head coach, did Aikman advise Miami to call about Shanahan? If so, did they?

Shanahan is in his 10th season with the 49ers. He's taken the team to two Super Bowls. Barring the franchise's first championship since 1994 (which could come this year), there could be a point where Shanahan reaches an Andy Reid-style mutual expiration date.

If that ever happens, Shanahan will have options. Especially if Aikman ends up getting hired to be someone's G.M.

Kirk Cousins is back in Minnesota, and perhaps no one is more excited about that than Justin Jefferson.

The wide receiver had career highs in catches (128) and yards (1,809) and earned the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year award in Cousins' last full season with the Vikings in 2022.

Jefferson, though, said he has "no expectations."

"It's really just going out there and just executing our plays," Jefferson said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN. "It's not really getting too juiced up about him being here or anybody being back there. It's just all about understanding the plays that are being called, understanding the jobs that we have and executing our responsibilities. And just the plays that are there, and the plays that could be made, we just need to continue to just make those type of plays. And I'm pretty sure that the results would be a lot better.

"He just understands the game. He's a guy that studies the game a lot. He understands how the defenses play, especially covering me. And he understands, the plays that we have called that are kind of my plays and he understands the timing and the windows to throw those type of plays, but he also doesn't force those type of plays to me and he just lets the game come to me."

Jefferson said it was "a joy to hear [Cousins] just take over and be a leader in the meeting room, on the field."

"He's being vocal," Jefferson said. "Just making sure that everybody hears the plays that he's talking about and the notes that he has for certain routes, certain plays. And he's just making sure that everybody's on the same page. So it's definitely cool to hear that type of leadership and command. If you know Kirk, that's pretty normal from him. So it's definitely kind of cool him being back in that room and him taking that control."

The Chiefs have had a kicking problem for a while.

But at least this week, they're still sticking with Harrison Butker.

Butker While Butker was one of the league’s most accurate kickers for years, that has not been the case over the last few seasons. He’s now missed 17 kicks since the start of last year, which is a league-high.

Butker’s struggles led the Chiefs to sign former Ravens kicker Justin Tucker to the practice squad. But to this point, Kansas City hasn’t used Tucker in a game.

This week, special teams coordinator Dave Toub once again told reporters why the club is sticking with Butker.

“We're going to keep pounding it,” Toub said, via transcript from the team. "We're going to keep working it and keep kicking him.

“He's going to come through it. I mean, we're confident that he will. We're just going to keep practicing him and keep working on little things, and he's looked good in practice. There's a reason why he's still our kicker.”

Butker has made 12-of-19 field goals and 22-of-23 extra points so far in 2026.

A reality TV series is once again pulling from the NFL well.

ABC announced on Friday that Commanders practice squad quarterback Sam Hartman is The Bachelor for the next season of the show, which will premiere on March 21.

Hartman, 27, has been with Washington since entering the league as an undrafted free gent in 2024. While he’s been on and off the 53-man roster, he has not yet appeared in a regular season game.

Hartman began his college career at Wake Forest before transferring to Notre Dame for his final season in 2023.

This is not the first time The Bachelor has chosen a reserve quarterback as its lead contestant. Way back in 2004, Jesse Palmer was with the Giants as the first professional athlete to appear on the program.

Palmer is now the host of the show.

Bruce Arians is thinking about coming out of retirement. Again.

Arians told Jordan Schultz that when he announced his retirement from the Buccaneers in March of 2022, it was because of health problems that have since been resolved, and he now wants to coach again.

"I had torn my Achilles early in that season, and I was wearing these prosthetic high heels, and it threw my back out, and I couldn't stand on the sideline for four hours anymore without a lot of pain," Arians said. "I was also monitoring an aneurysm on my heart, so I had some health issues. We did everything we thought we could do in Tampa after winning the Super Bowl, trying to get two, and then it was time to give it to Todd [Bowles]. Now that I'm all healthy again, I got the itch again. So, we'll see."

If Arians does come back next year, he'll be the oldest head coach in NFL history. That distinction currently belongs to Pete Carroll, who was 74 when he coached the Raiders last season. Arians will turn 75 next season.

Arians' first retirement announcement came from the Steelers after they did not renew his contract as their offensive coordinator following the 2011 season, but Arians later said he was forced out and didn't want to retire. He then took a job as offensive coordinator of the Colts in 2012, and was their interim head coach for most of that season while Chuck Pagano battled leukemia. Arians coached so well that he was named the NFL's Coach of the Year.

Once Pagano returned to the Colts, Arians became head coach of the Cardinals, and he won a second Coach of the Year award. He announced his retirement following the 2017 season, after five years as head coach of the Cardinals.

But in 2019 he came out of retirement to become head coach of the Buccaneers. He won a Super Bowl in Tampa Bay, then retired after three seasons. Arians thought that was it, but he said that his son is now coaching high school football, and in talking to his son about the job he realized how much he misses it himself.

"Another fire got lit," Arians said. "I had no desire to go back, and I was still fighting some health issues, but now after the open heart surgery I've got so much more energy, it's amazing."

Arians may find, like Bill Belichick before him, that all the accomplishments in the world don't guarantee an NFL head-coaching job. Or perhaps he'll convince some owner to give the oldest coach ever a chance to do what he's done three times before, and turn a franchise around.