NFL Player News

Bruce’s younger brother will begin his career vying for the vacant left guard job with Jah Reid and Kelechi Osemele. Long term, Gradkowski projects as Matt Birk’s successor at center.

Though he missed OTAs, Slater was a full participant in the Chargers’ first practice of mandatory minicamp. The 26-year-old franchise left tackle is looking for a contract extension as he enters his fifth season. He is on his fifth-year option, worth $19.05 million on the season. The Chargers will extend Justin Herbert’s blindside protector soon, and Slater should join the ranks of the league’s highest-paid tackles.

NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reports that Shanahan said Jennings (calf) and Pearsall (hamstring) will be out for minicamp, but should be ready for training camp. Jennings ascended to the team’s WR1 option with Brandon Aiyuk out, totaling a career-best 77/975/6. Meanwhile, Pearsall dealt with injuries as a first-round rookie last season, tallying a 31/400/3 line in 11 games. With Aiyuk (ACL/MCL) out for at least the beginning of the season, the 49ers will need production from these next two wideouts on the depth chart. Shanahan also mentioned rookie EDGE Mykel Williams (hamstring) will miss minicamp and return for training camp.

Aiyuk is still rehabbing a torn ACL and MCL he suffered in Week 7 last season. He was not expected to be ready until midseason, so it is not a surprise Shanahan indicated the 27-year-old wideout would start the season on the physically unable to perform list. Safety Malik Mustapha and rookie quarterback Kurtis Rourke are also expected to land on the PUP list. Meanwhile, Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall are expected to be ready for training camp and will see bigger roles without Aiyuk to start the season.

Sanders was last in the quarterback rotation behind Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel during OTAs. Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reports Sanders “served once again as the fourth-team quarterback” to begin mandatory minicamp. Cabot added, “he’s not getting work with the starters yet like the other three, but he did get the second set of 11-of-11s on Tuesday after Gabriel.” As the rookie with the lower draft pedigree, Sanders has an uphill climb for starting snaps despite his prolific image. He will need to work his way up the roster to compete with Gabriel and the two veterans, Flacco and Pickett.

Young is a former fourth-round pick of the Seahawks, playing in 17 games over two seasons. He tallied 18 tackles, a tackle for loss, and a pass defended as a rookie but did not register anything of note in his second season. The Seahawks cut the 25-year-old in April and he now joins the Packers as defensive line depth heading into minicamp.

Williams missed the second half of 2024 with ankle and heel injuries and enters the 2025 season with “some left in the tank.” He turns 37-years-old before the start of the season and retirement questions have been circulating around the All-Pro tackle. With two years left on his deal, Williams could look to play it out, saying “it’s one of them things to where I’m gonna do everything possible to play as long [as I can].” For now, the 49ers have the franchise left tackle to protect the newly-paid Brock Purdy heading into the season.

A forgotten man in New Orleans, Hill suffered a late-season torn ACL and will likely not be ready for the start of the season. Already, Moore conceded that “training camp would be ambitious” per NOLA’s Luke Johnson. Hill is entering his age-35 season and it wouldn’t be surprising if the Saints tampered down his workload when he does return to siphon snaps to younger players in what certainly appears to be a rebuilding season.

Returning from a torn ACL and MCL in Week 8, Darrisaw actually participating in any real way is a good sign for his odds of being cleared to play early in the season. Justin Skule remains the left tackle during 11-on-11 drills at this point, and Darrisaw has not been cleared to participate in team drills. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reports that it’s “not yet clear” if Darrisaw’s recovery time has sped up. Still, this is a shot of optimism in the idea that the Vikings won’t need to lean on Skule for too long early in the season.

He had signed a one-year deal with the Patriots this offseason. The veteran guard played for the Falcons, Commanders, and Jets over his eight years in the league after being selected in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He started 29 games for the Falcons in his first two seasons, but was mostly a versatile fill-in player afterwards. PFF graded his 2020 season with the Commanders, where he started 13 games, as his best year as a starter. The Patriots will likely turn to Cole Strange at guard this season.

Tagovailoa said that the hip injury he suffered in Week 15, which basically ended his 2024 season won’t be a concern - as long as he protects himself in future games. “Doing everything I can to stay available for the guys,” added Tagovailoa, who is entering the first of a four-year, $212.1 million contract extension. “It’s knowing when is the time to give up on a play.” Tagovailoa, who also sustained the third diagnosed concussion of his career in Week 2, missed a career-high six games in 2024. “I, like everyone else, really want him to be healthy,” Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said. “You have a franchise quarterback -- you want him to play instead of standing on the sideline.”