NFL Player News

Simon was let go by the Colts at final cuts last season before latching on with New England a few weeks into the year. He recorded two sacks across 11 games and has always had a knack for the quarterback despite limited playing time. Simon has 15 sacks in 65 career games and will compete for a rotational gig.

The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider writes that Estimé is expected to push Javonte Williams for the starting job in camp. Estimé, who was selected by the Broncos in the fifth round of this year’s draft, is a 5-foot-11, 233-pound bruiser who averaged 6.2 YPC in his three seasons at Notre Dame. Despite missing much of the team’s offseason programs, Kosmider believes he’ll have a chance to unseat Williams, the incumbent, who is a second year removed from a devastating knee injury that ended his 2022 season. Williams averaged just 3.6 YPC last season while totaling 1,002 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns, but should still find a role in Payton’s offensive — even if it’s a reduced one. We’ll see how things play out in camp, but it will likely take an impressive performance from Estimé for him to be viewed as the Week 1 starter.

Adams, 28, was released by the Seahawks at the end of the 2023 season. The former First-team All-Pro played in 34 of a possible 67 regular season games during his four-year tenure with the team and has played in just 10 games over the last two seasons. A myriad of injuries have plagued Adams in recent years, with a quad tear ending his 2022 season in Week 1, and a concussion and knee strain limiting him to nine games in 2023. Adams earned a PFF coverage grade of 50.7 while playing on 287 coverage snaps. The former do-it-all safety, who once racked up 9.5 sacks in a season, hasn’t recorded a sack since 2020 and is far from the player he once was. Despite this, he should have plenty to offer a Titans secondary that’s undergone a major overhaul this offseason.

Judon reported to mandatory minicamp last month and isn’t considered a risk of holding out of training camp at this time. McKenna did say that “things are progressing in the right direction for an extension,” but it doesn’t sound like anything is imminent at this time. Last season, the Patriots restructured Judon’s contract for the 2023 season to guarantee him $14 million instead of the $2 million he was set to receive. It’s possible the two sides do something similar if they can’t land on a long-term extension, but there’s still time to get a deal done. Judon, who turns 32 in August, is coming off a 2023 that was shortened due to a biceps injury, but the veteran pass rusher totaled four sacks in the four games he appeared in. While the two sides appear to be in good standing with one another, it’s apparent that Judon is hoping to maximize on his value before entering the twilight of his career.

In his first game as a pro, Philips caught 6-of-9 targets for 66 yards while also returning four punts for 62 yards. The fifth-round rookie looked like an immediate impact player out of the slot but has been limited to just 13 games over two seasons due to injury. In addition to injuries, Glennon also points out that Philips lost value when he muffed away his job as a returner last season. Now, rookie Jha’Quan Jackson, who the team selected in the sixth round this spring, has a chance to unseat Philips in the slot and as a returner. Neither player would offer much fantasy upside if they make the Titans’ 53-man roster, but this is a position battle worth monitoring under a new coaching regime.

According to Reed, both O’Connell and Minshew “got off to a rough start in OTAs,” struggling with accuracy and turnovers while offering little in the way of a vertical passing game. Given the profiles of both quarterbacks and what we saw last year, this isn’t all that surprising, as O’Connell and Minshew ranked 17th and 20th in ADOT last season amongst 30 quarterbacks (min. 300 dropbacks). It was reported in June by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that O’Connell “probably has the slight edge” over Minshew in the Raiders’ quarterback competition, but that’s to be expected with O’Connell being the incumbent to the newly-signed Minshew. Both quarterbacks are serviceable starters, but neither should be viewed as a long-term answer at the position. Barring an unexpected breakout from either signal-caller, Reed notes that “it wouldn’t be a surprise if both Minshew and O’Connell take the field at some point this year.”

Popper adds that he believes “secondary touches are open for competition, though if J.K. Dobbins is healthy, I think he wins that job.” Those drafting rookie Kimani Vidal would be interested in knowing that Popper believes Vidal is currently third on the running back depth chart. It’s about what we’d expect to see heading into training camp, as the Chargers brought in both Edwards and Dobbins via free agency this offseason, while Vidal is a sixth-round rookie. However, Edwards is entering his age-29 season and appeared to be on the decline at various times last season, and Dobbins has a lengthy injury history that includes a torn ACL suffered in 2021 and a torn Achilles suffered last year. While we’d expect the two veteran backs to get ever chance at earning the top two spots on the depth chart, the younger and likely more explosive Vidal could impress in the coming weeks.

Prescott is entering the last season of a four-year, $160 million contract. The Cowboys have waited to get a deal done with Prescott, who has leverage with Jared Goff and Trevor Lawrence signing for over $50 million a year this offseason. Jerry Jones has his hands full with Prescott and WR CeeDee Lamb in line for extensions. Prescott seems confident that his deal will get worked out while Lamb said he will not discuss his contract heading into camp.

Per Schefter, Fournette has also re-hired his agent as he continues to look for a home in the NFL. His agent, Ari Nissim, told Schefter, “Leonard’s in the best shape of his career and I expect he will have a new home soon.” Fournette signed with the Bills in the middle of the 2023 season but didn’t see much action. He totaled 12 carries for 40 yards and was released before the end of the postseason. Fournette’s experience may allow him to land a gig as a depth option, but his days as a fantasy-relevant player appear to be over.

Prescott was spotted in a boot while on a fishing trip last week. Prescott told reporters he had a “couple of hard days of training” before the vacation and wore the boot as a precaution. It was on the same ankle that he suffered a compound fracture and dislocation in nearly four years ago. Prescott was out of the boot while at his youth camp today and said he doesn’t expect it to be an issue for training camp. Backup quarterback Trey Lance could see a few extra reps if the Cowboys want to manage Dak’s workload early in camp, but the ankle issue should be a non-factor for fantasy purposes.

Patterson is arguably the greatest kick returner of all time and was signed shortly after the league amended its return rules. It’s clear his primary value will come on special teams. However, Kaboly points out that the Steelers gave him $6 million over two years. That’s more than just special teams money, even if he’s one of the best to ever do it. Patterson also found success in Arthur Smith’s system in 2022, rushing for 695 yards and eight touchdowns on 144 attempts. A thigh issue cost him a few games early in the 2023 season and he struggled to find a role upon returning. Though he still projects for distant RB3 duties in Pittsburgh, Patterson could be a minor thorn in the side of Jaylen Warren drafters this year.