NFL Player News

Aumavae-Laulu (6'6/332) was one of the top junior college prospects in his class when he picked Oregon over USC and Ole Miss, and even with the Ducks returning all five starters up front he could make a run at the starting right guard job in the fall. “He had a tremendous spring, and we expect him to be battling for a starting position down the line here,” Oregon HC Mario Cristobal said of Aumavae-Laulu in an interview with Tyson Alger of The Athletic. Beating out Warmack will be difficult however, as he started all 13 games for Oregon in 2018 after transferring in from Alabama.

Drake London reiterated Hilliard’s objectives, saying the “ball’s gonna be in the air” and “slow feet don’t eat.” The Falcons’ new OC Zac Robinson, formerly the Rams’ passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach, helped guide the Rams 2023 offense to NFL’s highest 11 personnel (three wide receivers) snap count (1,144) while utilizing a 60.4 percent passing rate in one-score games, 5.6 percent higher than the Falcons’ 54.8 percent rate. Waack noted slot receiver Rondale Moore and downfield specialist Darnell Mooney’s respective 4.29- and 4.38-second 40-yard dashes. The trio, side-kicked by Kyle Pitts (4.44 seconds at Florida’s pro day), possess the requisite speed to achieve Hilliard’s goal.

Fowler outlined some of the possible changes we could see in Philadelphia after the team replaced offensive coordinator Brian Johnson with Kellen Moore. He mentioned more involvement for the tight ends which would bode well for Dallas Goedert. Fowler also mentioned Jalen Hurts embracing a more multiple offense. The Eagles haven’t featured running backs in the passing game with Hurts under center and the Tush Push is the best play in the league at gaining one yard, so it would take a monumental change in their offense for Barkley to approach anything resembling McCaffrey levels of usage. Still, minor shifts in how the team uses its top running back would go a long way in justifying Barkley’s RB6 ADP in early best ball drafts.

The update comes passively from team reporter Stu Jackson, who mentions that Higbee’s return-to-play date remains unknown. Isolated ACL tears typically require at least nine months of rehabilitation and Higbee’s combination ACL/MCL injury occurred on January 14th. The PUP list’s minimum four-game stay makes sense. GM Les Snead signed free agent TE Colby Parkinson to a three-year, $22.5 million deal this offseason, ostensibly giving him the first crack at replacing Higbee as the team’s Week 1 starter. Parkinson never earned a full-time role with the Seahawks but tallied 15 explosive pass plays (15-plus yards) as a backup over the last two years.

“Trying to predict who is going to get more targets or more yards is going to be very difficult to do,” Grosbard said on the Rotoworld Football Show. ESPN’s Sarah Barshop said in June that Kupp, 31, stood out during OTAs and minicamp, and head coach Sean McVay said Kupp is operating at full health after dealing with a range of injuries in 2023. In the 11 games in which Kupp and Nacua were active in 2023, Nacua had 92 targets to 89 targets for Kupp. If the oft-injured Kupp can stay on the field in 2024, he could challenge Nacua as LA’s receptions leader.

The Arizona coaching staff, Venerable said, “loves” Conner and his tough running and veteran leadership. “The best version of this offense last year ran through [Conner],” Venerable said during an interview with Rotoworld’s Patrick Daugherty and Denny Carter. “James Conner is one of their best players.” Venerable suggested Michael Carter could mix in behind Conner, rather than rookie RB Trey Benson functioning as the clear RB2. Benson, the 66th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, is considered an explosive back, though he never had more than 20 rushing attempts in a single game during his college career. We would expect Benson to be the Cardinals’ lead back should the 29-year-old Conner once again miss time with injury in 2024.

Grosbard, in an interview with Rotoworld’s Patrick Daugherty and Denny Carter, said Williams’ foot-related absence from spring workouts won’t affect his role as LA’s clear-cut lead back. Grosbard described rookie Blake Corum as more of a breather back for Williams, adding the team drafted Corum with the 83rd pick in the 2024 draft because they wanted a “Kyren clone” to fill in for him should he once again miss time with injury. Rams head coach Sean McVay, according to Grosbard, “loves Kyren Williams.” “They see Kyren as the starter,” he added. Williams in 2023 was third in rushing yards and fifth in rushing touchdowns despite missing five games. His health will be worth monitoring during training camp.

The updates continue as Aiyuk and the 49ers are reportedly not nearing a deal after the two sides met last week. However, Garafolo (via NBC Sports Bay Area) also added a trade has “never been something that [Aiyuk] has explored.” While a new deal does not yet seem imminent, it seems Aiyuk is not demanding out. There is still time for a deal to get done, but for now there is only speculation on when Aiyuk will get a new contract.

Gipson has spent the last two seasons with the 49ers, starting in every game. The veteran was a Pro-Bowler with the Browns and has also spent time with the Texans, Jaguars, and Bears. The 33-year-old Gipson has yet to find a team for next season, but will now miss the first six games if and when he signs.

Tavai’s base money in the new deal is $15 million with $6 million in incentives. Tavai, a former second round draft pick by the Lions, had career highs in tackles (110) and tackles for loss (5) in 2023. He’s entering his fourth season with the Patriots.

Barrows pointed to the team’s investment at wideout — including a potential long-term deal with Brandon Aiyuk — and the drafting of Ricky Pearsall in the 2024 NFL Draft as reasons why the traditionally run-first Kyle Shanahan might lean more toward the pass this season. The team’s postseason run-pass splits, Barrows said, could be instructive for how the Brock Purdy-run offense might operate in 2024. The 49ers “called 109 pass plays and only 77 run plays (non-designed Purdy scrambles are counted as called pass plays) over those three games, a drastic departure from their run-forward ratio of the past,” Barrows said. “Given coach Kyle Shanahan’s trust in Purdy, the investment in the receiving room makes a lot of sense.” In 2023, the Niners had a 56 percent neutral pass rate, the 11th lowest in the NFL. They passed on 60 percent of their plays while trailing last season. An increase in Purdy drop backs would change the prospects for every San Francisco pass catcher in 2024.