Related items

• Christian McCaffrey to make season debut for 49ers

  San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey will finally make his season debut.

  Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed Thursday that McCaffrey is expected to play Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after missing the first eight games of the season.

  Last season’s Offensive Player of the Year has been on injured reserve since the start of the season with what was initially called a calf injury. The injury was later revealed to be Achilles tendonitis in both legs, and McCaffrey met with specialists in Germany in late September.

  McCaffrey returned to football activities while the 49ers were on a Week 9 bye and has resumed normal practice this week.

  “He's been awesome these last two days,” Shanahan said on a San Francisco radio station on Thursday. “You never know [about] a setback or anything, but these two days have been great, and I expect to see him out there.”

  McCaffrey’s return, barring a setback, comes at a key time for 4-4 San Francisco and has apparently boosted team morale. 

  “It's been awesome,” quarterback Brock Purdy told reporters. “Just what he brings to the table and really just firing everybody else up around. All of us coming off the bye week and feeling good and fresh and then you get 2-3 next to you in the backfield, it's been awesome.

  “Looks great moving around and he's trending in the right direction. So, we're excited to see what happens.”

  Jordan Mason was off to a tremendous start this season while filling in for McCaffrey and is third in the NFL in rushing yards.

  Mason, however, has been limited in recent weeks due to an ongoing shoulder injury, leaving rookie Isaac Guerendo to take on a larger role.

  Shanahan also indicated that wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings also benefited from the bye week and are on track to return against the Buccaneers.

   

• Browns GM Berry refuses to make Watson commitment

  Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry has refused to confirm whether Deshaun Watson will remain the franchise's starting quarterback when he returns from his Achilles injury.

  Watson endured a dismal start to the 2024 season as the Browns went 1-5 before he suffered the season-ending injury against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7.

  They failed to score 20 points in any of their seven games with Watson starting but did so at the first time of asking without him, beating the Baltimore Ravens 29-24 with Jameis Winston standing in at quarterback two weeks ago.

  Watson's relationship with the Browns' fanbase had already become strained after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate behaviour in massage sessions. 

  He served an 11-game suspension to start the 2022 season – his first campaign with the team after being handed a five-year, $230million contract following his trade from the Houston Texans.

  "Really our focus with Deshaun, I would say for any player with a season-ending injury and a major injury, is first and foremost and to make sure that he gets healthy," Berry said on Wednesday.

  "Everything else, we'll deal with at a later moment."

  Berry added, however, that the team's issues were not all of Watson's making.

  "We haven't played well as a team and we haven't played well as a unit on offense," Berry said. 

  "I think oftentimes when you don't play well on offense, obviously your starting quarterback and your play caller will get the most criticism. 

  "But the reality of it is, offenses, it comes down to organization and synchronization. There's a lot of shared ownership across the different groups in terms of why we didn't perform."

• Commanders add coveted cornerback Lattimore ahead of NFL trade deadline

  A handful of teams made moves ahead of Tuesday's NFL trade deadline in an attempt to bolster their play-offs hopes.

  Three first-place teams - the Washington Commanders, Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers - all swung deals, and we'll find out in just over three months if any of these trades help those franchises capture a Super Bowl championship.

  The Commanders acquired perhaps the biggest name on the trade market, picking up cornerback Marshon Lattimore from the scuffling New Orleans Saints.

  The Commanders shipped a third-, fourth- and sixth-round pick to the Saints for the four-time Pro Bowler, as well as a fifth-round draft pick.

  The 28-year-old Lattimore was named 2017 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, and though he has been slowed by injuries to his hamstring and abdomen the past few seasons, he is still considered one of the best shutdown defensive backs in the league, having not allowed a touchdown to be scored on him in coverage since 2021.

  He has 15 interceptions in his eight pro seasons, but doesn't have one in seven games this year.

  Lattimore goes from a New Orleans team that is in the midst of a seven-game losing streak and had just fired coach Dennis Allen on Monday to a Washington team that is 7-2 and is surprisingly atop the NFC East.

   

   

  Lions add pass rusher Smith in trade with Browns

  The Lions opened the final day of trading by acquiring pass rusher Za'Darius Smith from the Cleveland Browns for a fifth-round pick and a sixth-rounder in 2026. The Lions are also receiving a seventh-round pick in 2026 from the Browns.

  Detroit (7-1) had been looking to upgrade its pass rush after star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson fractured his left tibia and fibula back in Week 6, and Smith should help in that department.

  A three-time Pro Bowl selection, the 32-year-old Smith has five sacks this year and 65 sacks in 132 games over 10 pro seasons.

  The Lions are in first place in the NFC North with a 7-1 record, but have struggled to generate pressure without Hutchinson, recording just five sacks in the three games without him after registering 15 in its first five games.

   

   

  Jets send wide receiver Williams to Steelers

  The New York Jets found a suitor for Mike Williams, shipping the wide receiver to the Steelers for a fifth-round pick in the 2025 draft.

  Williams, a two-time 1,000-yard receiver, was in his first season with the Jets (3-6) after spending his first seven NFL seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers.

  He was never able to build any chemistry with Aaron Rodgers, however, and the 40-year-old quarterback called out Williams for running the wrong route on a play that Rodgers threw an interception late in a 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 6.

  At that point, it was clear New York was going to try to find a trade partner for the embattled wide out, especially after the Jets acquired Rodgers' old friend Davante Adams in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders (2-7) last month.

  Williams, who has 321 career receptions for 4,972 yards and 31 touchdowns, now joins a Steelers team that has won three straight games and is atop the AFC North with a 6-2 record.

  Pittsburgh also acquired veteran pass rusher Preston Smith from the Green Bay Packers for a seventh-round draft pick.

   

   

  Rams trade cornerback White to Ravens

  The Los Angeles Rams dealt cornerback TreDavious White to the Baltimore Ravens (6-3) in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round draft pick and a seventh-rounder the following year.

  The Rams (4-4)  had given White permission to seek a trade in late October, and has been inactive in their last four games.

  The disgruntled cornerback was in his first season in Los Angeles after spending his first seven seasons with the Buffalo Bills.

  The 29-year-old is a two-time Pro Bowl selection, but has been limited to 14 games in the last three seasons due to various injuries.

  He should still be able to help a Baltimore defense that is last in the NFL against the pass, allowing an average of 280.9 passing yards per game.

   

  In moves on a smaller scale, the Cowboys (3-5) acquired wide receiver Jonathan Mingo from the Carolina Panthers (2-7), and the Cincinnati Bengals (4-5) picked up Khalil Herbert from the Chicago Bears (4-4) for depth at running back.

  One player who didn't change teams and was rumoured to be on the move was the Raiders star edge rusher Maxx Crosby.

  The Seattle Seahawks (4-5) also decided to keep wide receiver DK Metcalf , while the Panthers are sticking with No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young and the Indianapolis Colts (4-5) are keeping quarterback Anthony Richardson.