NFL Player News

“Jermar had the ankle and everything. He started the week. He was another kid that had flu. So he wasn’t even around and so we just trusted Craig [Reynolds].” Campbell made it sound like Detroit’s backfield plan was a seat-of-pants decision. The Lions’ coach put part of the Week 14 loss on Godwin Igwebuike’s drive killing fumble in the third quarter. Jefferson was active but played three snaps, while Reynolds, on the practice squad until this week, led the team with 13 touches. With D’Andre Swift a candidate for IR and Jamaal Williams (COVID) potentially shut down, the Lions look intent to mothball Jefferson, who they traded up to draft and has two touchdowns on 10 carries this season.

Watt is not budging from his demands for a new deal going into the 2025 season. The Steelers reportedly expect to have Watt for Week 1, though the contract issue could drag well into the summer. Steelers beat writer Brian Batko said Tuesday that Watt and the team “agreeing to an extension is still the most likely outcome to me, but what makes this different than his last contract year is that he did go to minicamp back in 2021.” Not reporting this week would be a new leverage move for Watt, entering his age-31 season. Watt has 30.5 sacks and 38 tackles for loss over his past two seasons, each of which saw him play 17 games.

It hardly comes as a surprise as Hendrickson has refused to play on his current contract and has said there’s been no communication between his agent and the Bengals during this protracted holdout. Hendrickson, set to make $15.8 million in 2025, reportedly wants upwards of $30 million as he enters his age-31 season. The famously cheap Bengals appear unlikely to meet that demand, meaning Hendrickson could be traded to an EDGE-needy team willing to eat most or all of his contract. Pro Football Focus graded Hendrickson as the NFL’s fifth-best pass rusher in 2024.

Dickson, who’s been with the Seahawks since entering the league in 2018, is now signed through the 2029 season. He becomes the NFL’s highest paid punter with the extension. Last year, he notched the third-highest yards per punt (49.5) of his NFL career. Dickson ranked fourth among all punters in net yards per punt in 2024, and his 76 punts were fifth most in the league.

Saints beat reporter Nick Underhill sourced the report, which indicates the team is not fully happy with the state of their backfield, consisting of Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller, 2025 sixth-round pick Devin Neal, former first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire, former wide receiver Velus Jones, and Xazavian Valladay. They’ll see what Akers has left in the tank, with their ultimate goal being to eventually trade him to the Vikings in Week 7, as is NFL tradition.

ElAttrache is the surgeon that performed the surgery on Richardson’s throwing shoulder in 2023 and is not a name Colts fans want to hear in the news regarding their quarterback. It was previously reported that no structural damage was found after a scan on his shoulder was performed Friday, but any lingering inflammation and soreness almost two years after surgery is noteworthy and frightening. The team does not believe he will require another surgery at this time. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer believes there’s “a very good chance” that Daniel Jones is the Colts starter in Week 1.

The former workhorse finds a new home after another lost season due to injury, landing in Houston on a one-year deal that carries a maximum value of $5 million. The incentive-laden contract makes sense for both parties considering Chubb’s recent injury history, providing a proven low-cost option behind Joe Mixon in the backfield pecking order. Chubb passed his team physical Monday, prompting the signing and also indicating that he is on track in his return from a broken foot that ended his 2024 season after just eight games.

The seven-year veteran, who turns 30 next month, is coming off a strong year. In 2024, Cooke earned his first Pro Bowl selection after setting a career high in net punting average (44.8), which ranked second highest in the NFL. Cooke also pinned 34 of his 68 punts (50 percent) inside the 20, which tied for fourth most in the NFL. Cooke has spent his entire career with the Jaguars, who drafted him in the seventh round in 2018.

The 13-year veteran quarterback did not attend the Falcons voluntary OTAs in May, but did work out with the team in April. The team has repeatedly committed to Michael Penix as the Week 1 starter, even suggesting they could keep Cousins — scheduled to make $40 million in 2025 — as Penix’s backup. Cousins, who will be 37 at the start of the 2025 season, threw for 3508-18-16 in 14 games last season and had an abysmal five-game stretch in which he threw just one touchdown to nine interceptions, which ultimately led to his benching. The Falcons remain open to trading Cousins for the right price, but most media reports have them asking for quite a bit for the quarterback without retaining salary. The Steelers officially signing Aaron Rodgers takes away the last obvious suitor. Cousins may be waiting for a starting quarterback injury in training camp to get his foot in the door somewhere.

Fantasy managers taking late-round stabs on Wright this season will be happy to hear this. The speedy second-year back said he “lost a lot of body fat” this offseason while gaining “a lot of muscle” and estimating that he’s put on roughly six pounds. It’s a marginal increase, but one that Wright clearly hopes will help him better manage his second year in the pros as he’s expected to take on a bigger role with Raheem Mostert now out of the way. Wright rushed 68 times for 249 scoreless yards last season and posted a 9-6-0 rushing line over his final five games of the season, buried behind Mostert and unsigned free agent Jeff Wilson. Wright will hopefully have more value this season, but with Alexander Mattison and sixth-rounder Ollie Gordon also on board, little is guaranteed to the second-year back.