NFL Player News

There hasn’t been much clarity to Donnell’s “battle” with Will Tye, but Donnell seemed to spend more time with the first-team offense this evening. His catch tonight was his first of the summer. If nothing else, Donnell is going to remain a big body who can box out defenders in the red zone, but it’s quite possible he and Tye cancel each other out from a TE2 perspective.

This is nothing but speculation from Cimini following last week’s vote that kept the Eagles’ signature play alive for at least one more season. As Cimini notes in his article, the Jets were one of the teams that did not vote for the play to be banned. Their decision to vote in favor of the play could be viewed as the team tipping their hand on how they plan to deploy Justin Fields in short-yardage situations next season. Cimini also notes that on 12 tush push attempts for his career, Fields has converted 11 of those plays for first downs. His 12 attempts at the play rank second only to Jalen Hurts (100) and Josh Allen (55). It’s a small nugget, but one that could carry serious fantasy implications as fantasy managers look to exploit any potential edge during draft season. While the play could spell significant touchdown upside for Fields’ 2025 outlook, it could also come at the expense of Breece Hall’s touchdown totals. We’ll likely get a better sense of the team’s decision to use the play as training camp nears, but this is something worth tucking in the back of your mind as draft season draws closer.

According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Moses had surgery to help correct a knee injury he suffered in Week 3 of last season. Moses missed two games as a result of the injury, but played through it for much of the year. In March, it was reported that Moses “was given a clean bill of health” by the Jets shortly before the team allowed him to hit free agency. Moses signed a three-year, $24 million contract with the Patriots this offseason and said he’s “just pacing things out” when asked about his limited participation in OTAs thus far. For now, this seems like a non-issue as training camp nears, but it will be something worth monitoring if the 34-year-old continues to be limited late into the summer.

In typical Rodgers fashion, he really had nothing concrete to say. A young fan asked Rodgers whether or not he would ever consider playing for the Bears, to which he responded, “No, but I believe there is a team that might play in Chicago this year.” While the Vikings certainly play in Chicago considering they are division opponents, the phrasing of Rodgers’ answer seems to eliminate them from his consideration, leaving the Steelers, who play at Chicago in addition to playing the Packers in Week 8, as the likeliest landing spot for Rodgers - assuming he decides to play in 2025. Yea, not much additional information out of Rodgers, who continues to string the Steelers along. Mike Tomlin and the rest of the brass in Pittsburgh have seemingly put all their eggs in the Rodgers basket for the coming season considering the general lack of urgency at the quarterback position through free agency and the NFL Draft. Rodgers also firmly denied any reports that he would consider playing in New Orleans. Not such a beautiful day in the neighborhood, Mr. Rodgers.

The hint comes from a social media post featuring a photo of Baker Mayfield and an emoji-infused caption suggesting White is preparing for “one last ride” with the team. He was supplanted by 2024 rookie Bucky Irving as the team’s starter last year. White remained the clear-cut passing down back at the end of the season, but his target volume problematically dried up after an eight-target Week 16 outing; he totaled just three targets in Week 17-Wild Card Weekend. White is best viewed as a bench stash with mild PPR RB4/5 potential this year. He is scheduled to hit free agency after the season concludes, and it is possible he finds a fantasy-friendly landing spot as a passing down back in 2026.

Morton previously worked as a senior offensive assistant with Campbell’s 2022 Lions squad before serving as the Broncos’ pass game coordinator in 2023-2024. While Birkett expects “the Lions to throw the ball downfield more under Morton,” we can also safely expect Morton to continue featuring Jahmyr Gibbs in the passing game. Both Campbell’s 2022-2024 Lions offenses and the Broncos’ 2023-2024 offenses ranked top 12 in total targets thrown to the running back position annually. Gibbs should again contend for the overall RB1 spot in PPR formats.

Morton spent the 2022 season serving as a Lions senior offensive assistant before heading to Denver to serve as the Broncos’ pass game coordinator from 2023-2024. While Jared Goff (7.0) and Bo Nix (7.8) operated via similar aDOTs last year, Nix’s 126 passes thrown 15-plus yards downfield rank third among NFL QBs and hold a 23-pass edge over Goff, whose 103 qualifying attempts rank 13th. Increasing the Lions’ downfield passing frequency would benefit speedster Jameson Williams, who Morton talked up as a breakout candidate last week. Williams finished as the PPR WR22 last season.

Per Fowler, Conerly is “expected to sign Tuesday.” Unless something goes awry, Commanders fans can effectively count this as a signing. The deal is reportedly worth $15.68 million. It is unclear which position Conerly will play. He could compete with last year’s rookie LT Brandon Coleman for the starting right tackle gig, with former Texans LT Laremy Tunsil now in the fold, or perhaps, one of Conerly or Coleman will compete with LG Nick Allegretti. Regardless, the Commanders now have a sturdy offensive line group capable of protecting Jayden Daniels.

Williams’ stable rushing metrics have suffered since tearing his ACL and LCL, while also damaging the posterolateral corner of his knee. Over the last two seasons, Williams’ missed tackle forced rate (0.16) has dropped by 50.0 percent of his pre-injury form and his post-contact yardage average likewise decreased by 0.8 yards. Thus far in organized team activities, “Williams has been taking a majority of the first team reps at running back,” but as Yarrish notes, “there are a lot of bodies” in the Cowboys running back room. Per Williams, it remains unclear as to “what kind of rotation will be utilized” by new head coach Brian Schottenheimer, or “if there will be one at all.” Williams’ early first-team repetitions serve as a positive sign, but there is a long way to go before the depth chart is established. For now, Williams should only be viewed as a member of an unsettled committee.

Underhill described Rattler as being in “total control of the offense” and looked “really, really good” while hitting “throws with a high degree of difficulty.” Now, as Underhill also points out, a second-year player “should look better” than Shough, who was participating in just “his fourth practice with an NFL team.” Underhill does not know whether “this is going to lead to wins, or results,” but declared the competition “rejuvenating” for a team in need of leadership. While neither Rattler nor Shough is likely to produce fantasy football QB1 results, the starter could work his way onto QB2 streaming radar, aided by the Saints’ talented receiving corps.

Bair notes that there’s a “fan contingent pushing for Nick Chubb,” but he views Dobbins, who is “coming off a strong 2024 season,” as “a safer bet.” Those of us outside the Bears’ building cannot know what GM Ryan Poles plans to do, but Bair’s suggestion reflects a consensus that the Bears could benefit from adding “a physicality to the attack that’s beneficial to [head coach] Ben Johnson’s scheme.” If the Bears intend to sign Dobbins, they have until July 22nd, at which point the unrestricted free agent tender that the Chargers placed on him would give the Chargers “exclusive negotiating rights” on a new deal. Contract value is seemingly key here. Bair cites a prior Yahoo! Sports report in which “Poles said he didn’t have a running back graded highly enough when the Bears’ pick came up in the first six rounds.” They held firm, prioritizing offensive and defensive passing game players, rather than reaching for a running back. The Bears’ front office may be able to lower Dobbins’ asking price by offering him a role he will not find in a crowded Chargers running back room.