NFL Player News

Lawrie, a former Saint, looks the part at 6-7/256 and bears a remarkable likeness to Greg Olsen. However, he’s caught just two passes since 2004.

Curl left the Rams’ practice early with a lower leg issue while Forbes exited with a hamstring injury. Head coach Sean McVay indicated there would be more clarity on the defensive backs’ injuries later this week. Curl has started 69 of 76 career games, including each of his 16 games played in his first season with the Rams last year. An absence from him would dent the Rams’ secondary on the back end. Forbes played in two games for the Rams since arriving from Washington last season and is behind Ahkello Witherspoon and Darious Williams as depth at cornerback. Derion Kendrick and Cam Lampkin would see more opportunities if Forbes missed a part of training camp.

Head coach Todd Bowles announced yesterday that Otton had tweaked his hamstring early on in camp. Tuesday marks his third straight practice missed as the Bucs look to get their starting tight end healthy. With WR Chris Godwin (ankle) still working his way back, snaps over the middle of the field are open for the taking in training camp. Rookie Emeka Egbuka and backup tight end Payne Durham look to get more opportunities as Otton gets healthy; there is no timeline for his return, but no indicator the injury is serious enough to put Otton at risk of missing any regular season games.

Hendrickson’s contract saga is still not over as both sides have yet to agree to a deal. However, the 30-year-old has decided to report to Bengals camp, according to Schefter. He was placed on the reserve/did not report list to start camp, making his holdout official and resulting in $50K of fines per day. The fines will now stop as Hendrickson hopes to jumpstart negotiations with the Bengals once again. The two sides are no closer to a new contract, but Cincy has resolved rookie Shemar Stewart’s dispute. The front office can now devote its full focus to Hendrickson, who is the final NFL holdout to end and wants a deal closer to the top of the market for edge rushers.

Hairston, a first-round pick of the Bills in this year’s draft, went down with a non-contact injury to his right knee in training camp practice. He walked off the field under his own power, accompanied by the team’s trainer. The Bills gave no update on Hairston, who is competing for the starting cornerback job opposite Christian Benford. The 21-year-old is at risk of losing valuable training camp snaps as the Bills look to reinforce their secondary.

Jaleel McLaughlin has “sprinkled in” with that group. “He had a run today that was something,” Sean Payton said of Harvey, “and we kind of turned and looked at each other.” The rookie back’s blocking has not been quite as crisp, as Kosmider relates a story of him getting bowled over by a linebacker in pass protection. Still, Payton did say he was “doing exceptional.” It seems like Dobbins and Harvey will be a tandem at the start of the year, with McLaughlin perhaps spelling the two on certain plays.

“In past years, you’d often see Montgomery get the first bulk of carries before Gibbs takes the field. There was a clear pecking order in practice, and that often translated to games,” Pouncy continued. A shift where Gibbs takes on more of the early-down workload from David Montgomery would qualify as a fantasy earthquake, something that could push Gibbs ahead of Bijan Robinson and Saquon Barkley in the No. 1 overall running back conversation, while also pushing Montgomery down the board quite a bit. Pouncy also notes that “perhaps the staff is recognizing [Gibbs] is too talented for a true 50-50 split.” We aren’t sure quite how much stock to put into this, but it’s certainly a noteworthy report from Lions camp.

“What that looks like, we’re going to be smart. But at the same time, he wants to get back out there. He doesn’t want to stay wearing what I wear to practice much longer,” O’Connell continued. Jefferson’s injury should be treated with only the faintest of concern at this point ahead of the new season. It wouldn’t be surprising if he was practicing within the next couple of weeks.

If true, the Browns corner would likely be lost for the season. Nik Needham and 2023 fifth-rounder Cameron Mitchell will vie to fill the role that Emerson leaves behind after starting 27 games over the past two years. It’s possible that Greg Newsome will move outside in early-down sets. Emerson was in the final year of his rookie deal and will likely be a prove-it deal candidate in 2026 if he misses the year.

Johnson elaborated that “provided he gets a one-on-one with a corner, he’s going to win most of his matchups, slant routes, stop routes, go routes, the whole route tree outside the numbers ... That’s what I’ve seen from him so far.” The Odunze hype train is real, but he’s still going outside of the top 70 picks in most drafts. He has a chance to be targeted more often than D.J. Moore this year if you listen to Johnson.

Kenny McIntosh (knee) tore his ACL over the weekend and Martinez could claim his roster spot. The seventh-rounder out of Miami drew some praise from coach Mike Macdonald, who said “I had a feeling that he would show up a little bit more with the pads [on], so hopefully that trend continues.” Martinez isn’t a real fantasy factor without injuries ahead of him, but if he wins this role he’ll make for a nice stash in dynasty leagues.