Tuesday’s NFL Wire: Giants Cut Najee Harris and Jihad Ward as Week 7 Needs Come Into Focus

Tuesday is the NFL’s quiet paperwork day — until it isn’t. The league’s October 20 transaction ledger, compiled by NFL Trade Rumors, ran long this week, and the names at the top of it tell you exactly where teams are hurting heading into Week 7. A starting running back was cut two days after a loss. A veteran pass rusher was let go by a defense that just gave up 34 points. A contender signed a kicker off a Monday workout, and another signed a Super Bowl hero to its practice squad. None of it is blockbuster stuff. All of it is diagnostic.

The Giants cut the starter and the pass rusher

The biggest moves belonged to the New York Giants, who released running back Najee Harris and outside linebacker Jihad Ward on Tuesday, according to NFL Trade Rumors’ Tuesday ledger. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the Harris cut, per NFL Trade Rumors. Harris had been listed as the Giants’ Week 6 starter — a striking detail for a player now off the roster entirely — and Pro Football Rumors, summarizing Rapoport’s report and SNY’s Connor Hughes on Ward, noted Harris was added in August as part of New York’s search for backfield depth after four straight 1,000-yard seasons in Pittsburgh and an injury-shortened stint with the Chargers. The Associated Press, via TSN, reported Harris had just two carries for 4 yards in Sunday’s 34-27 loss to New Orleans, rushed for 99 yards in five games this season, and was critical of his role afterward, saying it was impossible to get into a rhythm without a steady workload.

Ward’s exit carries its own story. Per Connor Hughes and Mike Garafolo, as cited in the task ledger and Athlon Sports’ account, the 32-year-old Ward was signed off the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad in late September and managed 1 tackle in 41 defensive snaps across 2 games. The move came two days after the Giants surrendered 34 points in that 34-27 loss to New Orleans — a game New York led 10-0. Ward is no stranger to the building: he played for the Giants in 2022-23 and recorded 8 sacks in 34 games, according to Athlon Sports. That a familiar veteran, brought in specifically for depth, lasted barely three weeks says less about Ward than about a defense still searching for answers in October. The Giants filled one opening by signing linebacker Trace Ford to the active roster, NBC Sports reported.

Receivers, kickers and the injury economy

If the Giants’ moves were about a defense, Pittsburgh’s were about a passing game held together by tape. The Steelers signed wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling to the practice squad, per Mike DeFabo of The Athletic, as reported by NFL Trade Rumors, which noted Pittsburgh is banged up at receiver. Valdes-Scantling is the classic mid-October signing: a veteran deep threat who knows how to line up on Sunday without a training camp, available precisely because teams keep him on speed dial for weeks like this one.

The Los Angeles Rams made the other headline specialist move, signing kicker Brandon McManus after a Monday workout, per Rapoport via NFL Trade Rumors, and cutting kicker Harrison Mevis. Kicker churn in October is never about one missed kick in isolation — it is about a coaching staff deciding it cannot spend another Sunday doing fourth-down math around a kicker it no longer trusts. McManus, a veteran with a Super Bowl ring from Denver, is the safe pair of hands teams call in exactly this spot.

Veterans on the move out west and in Indianapolis

The San Francisco 49ers released veteran defensive tackle Naquan Jones, per Tom Pelissero via NFL Trade Rumors and Yardbarker. Because Jones is a vested veteran, he becomes a free agent immediately rather than passing through waivers. Jones joined the 49ers on September 23, appeared in 3 games and made 2 tackles; across his career he has played 63 games with 104 tackles and 6.5 sacks, according to Yardbarker’s account of the release. For a 49ers defensive front that has spent the season patching holes, even a depth release is a reminder of how thin the margin has gotten.

The Indianapolis Colts, meanwhile, added two of the most recognizable practice-squad names of the week, signing wide receiver Mecole Hardman and punter Thomas Morstead, per the NFL Trade Rumors ledger. Hardman, a three-time Super Bowl champion with Kansas City known for his speed and return ability, and Morstead, one of the most accomplished punters of his generation, are insurance policies with résumés — the kind of signings a team makes when it expects to be playing meaningful football in December and does not want a November injury turning into a special-teams adventure.

The rest of Tuesday’s wire

Kansas City stayed busy underneath its headline names. The Chiefs signed linebacker Aiden Fisher to the practice squad, per Jordan Schultz via NFL Trade Rumors, waived linebacker Cam Jones, and designated linebacker Cooper McDonald to return from injured reserve. Miami announced five moves of its own, per the ledger: defensive end Rodney McGraw was promoted, kicker Zane Gonzalez joined the practice squad, kicker Riley Patterson was released, defensive back Storm Duck was waived from the physically unable to perform list, and linebacker Andre Jones was waived — a full special-teams and depth reset in one afternoon.

Elsewhere on the ledger: the Buffalo Bills signed defensive back Tre’Davious White to the practice squad, a homecoming for a former first-round pick; the Dallas Cowboys waived defensive back Caelen Carson, signed defensive back Juanyeh Thomas from the practice squad and added quarterback Kyle Trask to the practice squad; the Carolina Panthers promoted running back Anthony Tyus III, per Joseph Person, and waived offensive tackle Albert Reese; the Baltimore Ravens waived linebacker Carl Jones Jr.; the Arizona Cardinals signed linebacker Bradyn Swinson to the practice squad; the Cleveland Browns made six practice-squad moves; the Cincinnati Bengals signed defensive back Russ Yeast from the practice squad; the Washington Commanders released safety Darren Hall; the Atlanta Falcons released linebacker Bralen Trice from the practice squad; the Detroit Lions signed defensive lineman Aidan Keanaaina to the practice squad; and the Minnesota Vikings re-signed cornerback Natrone Brooks to the practice squad.

What the wire actually says

Read together, Tuesday’s ledger is a map of Week 7 anxiety. The Giants are churning a defense that blew a 10-0 lead and gave up 34 points. The Steelers are buying receiver depth by the week. The Rams decided their kicking situation could not wait for a bye-week conversation. And contenders like the Chiefs and Colts spent the day on the unglamorous work — practice-squad linebackers, veteran punters, return specialists — that decides December games nobody remembers making possible in October. The trade deadline gets the headlines. Tuesday’s wire is where the season is actually maintained. For more, see Previously’s Sports front and the latest newsroom coverage.