Le Journal

After the Las Vegas Raiders’ 53-man roster was pretty healthy the past few weeks, there is some injury questions after the first practice day of the week as they prepare to play at the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. Both tight end Michael Mayer and starting guard Jordan Meredith both didn’t practice Wednesday because of ankle injuries. Mayer missed the second half of Sunday’s home loss to the Cleveland Browns and Meredith was banged up late in the game. #Raiders Guard Jordan Meredith (ankle) and TE Michael Mayer (ankle) did not practice today. If Meredith doesn’t play on Sunday, Las Vegas will be without three starters on the o-line. pic.twitter.com/W7OFWhM8j9— Ryan McFadden (@ryanmcfadden_) November 26, 2025 Their availability for Sunday’s game will be monitored as the week goes on. Mayer plays often with starting tight end Brock Bowers. If Meredith does miss the game, the Raiders beleaguered offensive line would be missing three starters in addition to left tackle Kolton Miller and right guard Jackson Powers-Johnson. Both are on the injured reserve with ankle injuries. Meredith moved from center to guard when Powers-Johnson was hurt. Will Putnam took his place. Alex Cappa and rookie Caleb Rogers are candidates to replace Meredith and either of them can play center if Putnam plays guard Cappa replaced a struggling Putnam against Cleveland ad then Putnam replaced an injured Meredith. So, there are more questions about this struggling unit. Star defensive end Maxx Crosby (knee) and starting wide receiver Tre Tucker (knee) were both limited. Crosby has been limited or rested often in recent weeks, but hasn’t missed any game time. As expected, running back Ashton Jeanty practiced without issue. He tweaked his ankle late Sunday.

Three days after cameras caught Las Vegas Raiders starting quarterback Geno Smith directing an obscene gesture in direction of booing fans after a disappointing home loss to the Cleveland Browns, he met with media members for the first time since news of the incident broke. A contrite and somber Smith issues a an apology to fans. Wednesday He said he must hold himself to a higher standard and he promised that it would never happen again. #raiders QB Geno Smith on his obscene gesture towards a fan after the team’s loss to the Browns. “I’ve got to hold myself to a higher standard.” @VegasNation pic.twitter.com/aDRLyYKi3p— Heidi Fang (@HeidiFang) November 26, 2025 In the midst of a bitterly disappointing for Smith, who was acquired to bring victories and leadership, and the offense, the Allegiant Stadium crowd booed the team often as they were upset by the woeful Cleveland Browns in a battle of two 2-8 teams. It was unclear if Smith was directing the obscene gesture one or several fans as he left departed the field to one last chorus of boos that Sunday. While Smith said it wouldn’t happen again, this is actually the second time Smith, 35, has been caught flipping off fans. He did it to Seattle Seahawks fans with both hands who were heckling him before the start of the preseason opener. Smith has been the Seahawks’ starting quarterback the past three seasons. Raiders coach Pete Carroll, who coached Smith in Seattle, backed him up in that incident. This week, when Smith directed the bird to the home fans, the Raiders issued an apology Sunday night.

The 32 nominees for the 2025 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award have been finalized. New England Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones finds himself among them, the NFL announced Wednesday. The 32 nominees for the 2025 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.Each NFL team nominated a player for the award, whichrecognizes individuals around the league who exemplify outstanding sportsmanship. pic.twitter.com/DlgJ5i7Yvp— NFL (@NFL) November 26, 2025 The organization circled the all-purpose threat for the 12th annual honor, which was created in the name of the late founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pro Football Hall of Famer. The Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award recognizes players around the league who exemplify outstanding sportsmanship on the field and best demonstrate the qualities of fair play, respect for the game and opponents and integrity in competition.​ Jones, 27, stands as the last selection left in Foxborough from the 2022 NFL draft class. The former No. 85 overall pick was voted a team captain out of training camp. He was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week at the end of September and AFC Defensive Player of the Month at the end of October. In between, a three-year contract extension was reached at Gillette Stadium. “He embodies everything that we’re looking for here in a player and a teammate on the field and in the community,” Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said of the re-up earlier this fall. “Something we were excited about doing. Glad that he wanted to get that done and wanted to be with us moving forward.” The former All-American and Paul Hornung Award winner’s tenure with New England spans 43 games and 20 starts. As a rookie, Jones earned first-team All-Pro honors while leading the NFL in punt return yards. He has gone on to amass 151 tackles, 28 passes defensed, one sack, five fumble recoveries, six interceptions and two touchdown returns in the secondary. The 5-foot-8, 188-pound product of Troy and Houston also stands with one touchdown as a wide receiver and two touchdowns as a punt returner. His career includes 1,569 snaps on defense, 24 snaps on offense and 278 snaps on special teams. A panel of ex-players from the NFL Legends Community will select eight finalists — four from the AFC and four from the NFC. Those finalists will be listed on the Pro Bowl ballot under the NFL Sportsmanship Award category when active players cast their votes to reach a consensus in December. The winner of the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award, which will be announced as part of NFL Honors leading up to Super Bowl LX, will receive a $25,000 donation from the NFL Foundation to a charity of their choice. Longtime Patriots special teams captain Matthew Slater took home the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award in 2021.

In the aftermath of their Week 12 win in Cincinnati, which saw several players go down with injuries, the New England Patriots made a series of transactions. On Tuesday, the team signed offensive tackle Thayer Munford Jr. from the Cleveland Browns practice squad to its active roster, sent cornerback Alex Austin to injured reserve, and brought back interior offensive lineman Bill Murray to take a spot on the practice squad previously held by now-released running back Jonathan Ward. Let’s analyze the moves, focusing on the two additions as well as Austin going to IR. OT Thayer Munford Jr: Signed to 53-man roster Will Campbell effect: Patriots left tackle Will Campbell suffered a reported MCL sprain in the third quarter of. Sunday’s win over the Bengals, and as a consequence is expected to miss multiple weeks. How exactly the Patriots will replace him remains to be seen — Vederian Lowe took over versus Cincinnati — but the overall depth of the group quickly became an issue once the first-round pick did not immediately get up. With Munford Jr. now in the mix, the Patriots have four healthy offensive tackles remaining on their 53-man roster: Lowe and Munford Jr. are being joined by Morgan Moses and Marcus Bryant, the starter and backup at right tackle, respectively. Campbell, of course, is a candidate to be moved to injured reserve ahead of next Monday’s game against the New York Giants. Experienced addition: Munford Jr. originally entered the NFL as a seventh-round draft pick with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022 and since then has appeared in 18 NFL games with 10 starts. His experience at the pro level also includes a brief stint on the New England practice squad earlier this year, as well as his two months in Cleveland. His time with the Patriots, as well as with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels early in his career, should make for a relatively smooth transition into a new but not unfamiliar environment. Positional versatility: On paper, the 26-year-old will help bolster the depth at left tackle with Campbell out for the foreseeable future: he has 245 regular season snaps at the position on his career résumé. However, Munford Jr. also has garnered significant experience elsewhere. During his NFL career so far, he has played 688 snaps at right tackle and an additional 155 as an in-line tight end. That latter role might be his quickest way onto the field in New England given that Vederian Lowe has sporadically served as a jumbo tight end throughout the year — a role he would be unavailable for if he was inserted as the starting left tackle. Salary cap impact: Unless the Patriots have decided to sign him to more than a minimum salary deal for a player of his experience — an unlikely move — Munford Jr’s base salary after joining them will be $1.1 million. With only six weeks remaining in the 2025 regular season, however, his actual cap impact is only $366,667. As a player signed from an opposing practice squad, he is entitled to half of that sum ($183k) considering that he will have to spend a minimum of three weeks on New England’s active roster. CB Alex Austin: Placed on injured reserve Four-week minimum absence: The Patriots have gotten familiar with injured reserve timelines recently. After sending only one player to IR over the first 10 weeks of the season — RB Antonio Gibson, who tore his ACL in Week 5 — they have now had to use that option in back-to-back weeks: following Milton Williams, Alex Austin is now the third in-season player moved to injured reserve. This means that he will sit out at least four games, missing New England’s upcoming contests against the New York Giants, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets. He would be eligible to return for the season finale versus Miami. Cornerback depth a concern: Even though he recently lost his position as the No. 4 cornerback on the roster to Charles Woods, Austin still provided valuable depth at the position behind starters Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis and…