Givens

Altoona Area High School graduate Kevin Givens will begin the 2025 NFL season on the injured reserve list.

Givens, a defensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers, must miss a minimum of four games before being eligible to return to the active roster.

Givens, the former Penn State standout, sustained a pectoral injury during the preseason. He has spent the last six seasons with the Niners and has played in 65 games and has 91 tackles and eight sacks.

Givens, 28, signed a one-year deal during the offseason with a guaranteed base salary of $2.025 million.

Hollidaysburg Area High School graduate Luke Rhodes, now 32, is set to begin his 10th season as the Indianapolis Colts’ long snapper. He has played in 135 NFL regular-season games.

Rhodes signed a four-year, $6.465 million extension through the 2027 season in September 2023.

Trouble in Texas

HOUSTON — Houston Texans safety Jimmie Ward has been placed on the commissioner exempt list as he faces a felony domestic violence charge. He may not practice or attend games while on the list.

Ward had been on the physically unable to perform list because of a foot injury since before camp. He was arrested in June in Magnolia, Texas, on a felony charge of assaulting a family member. A woman called authorities, claiming he strangled and threatened her. He was arrested again in August for violating his bail on that charge.

You’re No. 2

BEREA, Ohio — Coach Kevin Stefanski has selected Dillon Gabriel as the backup quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. This decision comes after Gabriel’s strong performance in the final two preseason games.

On Tuesday, Stefanski confirmed Gabriel’s role after the team set its initial 53-man roster. Cleveland traded Kenny Pickett to the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday for a draft pick. Gabriel impressed by leading scoring drives in five of seven attempts and completing 25 of 37 passes.

Stefanski emphasized that Gabriel’s evaluation included both game performance and practice. Deshaun Watson remains on the physically unable to perform list.

He’ll be back

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston is opening the season on injured reserve, while being designated to return, after missing the past month with a sprained right knee, the team announced in establishing its 53-player roster.

The first-round draft pick has been sidelined since getting hurt during an individual drill a week into training camp in July. Hairston was projected to compete for the starting spot opposite Christian Benford, but will now miss at least the first four weeks of the season.

The Bills also released veteran defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, a day after signing the 11th-year player. Phillips is now expected to land on Buffalo’s practice squad in returning to the team for a fourth stint.

Chargers acquire help

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Chargers on Tuesday acquired tackle Austin Deculus from the Houston Texans.

The Chargers will send a 2027 conditional seventh-round pick to Houston.

Deculus was picked sixth by Houston in the 2022 NFL draft and has appeared in 15 career games including the postseason, making a pair of starts.

He saw the most action of his career in 2023, when he played in seven games with one start, contributing along an offensive line that helped quarterback C.J. Stroud throw for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Quarterbacks for hire

Tommy DeVito is the latest quarterback looking for a new team. The New York Giants have waived the local fan favorite.

Elsewhere, Kyle Trask lost his job as Baker Mayfield’s backup in Tampa Bay after the team chose veteran Teddy Bridgewater to hold the No. 2 position. And Tyler Huntley didn’t make the cut in Cleveland.

Desmond Ridder, who is 8-10 in his career as a starter, was cut by the Cincinnati Bengals. The Dallas Cowboys waived Will Grier, and the Atlanta Falcons released Easton Stick.

Rookie sixth-round pick Kyle McCord didn’t make Philadelphia’s initial roster. The quarterback out of Syracuse is a candidate for the practice squad if another team doesn’t sign him.

The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles acquired Sam Howell to back up Jalen Hurts and Tanner McKee.