NFL Player News

Lemieux will be making his 2022 debut in Week 11 after he was injured in the Giants’ preseason opener. His return is a needed upgrade to an offensive line that will likely be without RT Evan Neal (doubtful, knee) for another week. Lemieux has rarely stayed healthy the last two seasons, missing 27 games to injuries.

The move was made in order to sign No. 3 overall pick EDGE Abdul Carter to his four-year, $45.255 million contract. The Giants had just $1.6 million in cap space prior to Burns’ contract tweak. Burns remains under contract through the 2028 season.

Per USA Today’s Art Stapleton, Carter’s fully guaranteed $45.255 million contract includes a $29.497 million signing bonus. Carter is officially the newest member of the Giants’ loaded pass rush. He is expected to contribute significantly in year one, lining up opposite veteran EDGE Brian Burns.

Johnson said he “would expect a little bit more inconsistency” from a second-year player, but Odunze is apparently approaching the meeting room, walk-throughs, on-field work and drills “very much like a seasoned pro.” Johnson punctuated the point by saying he thinks Bears coaches are “going to see a lot of growth from him, not just in the springtime, but once we get to camp.” Odunze finished as a high-end PPR WR5 in his 2024 rookie season and is currently being drafted as a mid-to-low WR3 in both managed PPR formats and best ball formats alike. That positional ADP seemingly puts him in line with Johnson’s forecast.

In the piece, Smalls quotes new Dolphins WR coach Robert Prince, OC Frank Smith and GM Chris Grier, who respectively say Hill is communicating promptly, demonstrating motivation and “doing all the things to show his teammates that this is where he wants to be.” Smalls notes that “Smith was unsure of Hill’s recovery timeline” following Hill’s two offseason wrist surgeries, and adds that “Hill’s health will be certainly something to monitor as organized team activities (OTAs) get underway in the coming weeks.” At this time, it is unclear whether Hill will return to 1,000-yard form at 31 years old, but having him on the field is certainly a positive for Tua Tagovailoa’s 2025 fantasy prospects.

Rooney was reiterating a point he made in April, when he said the team was willing to wait on Rodgers to make a decision, but not forever. The enigmatic quarterback has been silent for most of the offseason, leaving teams hanging on whether he will play football at all this year. Pittsburgh has gone all in on Rodgers, only bringing in Mason Rudolph and sixth-round rookie Will Howard to replace their tandem of Justin Fields and Russell Wilson from last year. It’s clear that Rooney’s patience is wearing thin, but there’s not much he can do at this point outside of rolling with Rudolph. If Rodgers wants to be a Steeler, the team is going to welcome him with open arms, even if he continues to slow-play them.

Hutchinson went down with the devastating leg injury in Week 6 and missed the remainder of the season. He was, however, expected to return for the Super Bowl if Detroit made it that far, so being full-go at this point isn’t much of a surprise. Hutchinson totaled 7.5 sacks in five appearances last year, putting him on pace for 25.5 sacks over a 17-game season. He was easily Pro Football Focus’s top-graded pass-rusher and was on his way to taking home the Defensive Player of the Year award before going down. He will be eying the hardware this time around as well and is in line for a record-breaking extension. Hutchinson has two years left on his current contract, but the Lions may get out ahead of things with a new deal for him this summer.

Waugh’s exact role in San Francisco has not been reported yet. He spent nearly 20 years in San Francisco and held the title of VP of Player Personnel before rejoining Trent Baalke in Jacksonville in 2022. Baalke was fired this offseason and Waugh took on the mantle of interim general manager for a few months before the Jags showed him the door.

Wolfe noted June 1st as a date to keep in mind when looking at a potential trade. Miami would take a cap hit of over $25 million if they move Ramsey before then. That number falls below $7 million after the date. Despite the lack of urgency from Miami, it sounds like Ramsey is as good as gone. Ramsey isn’t attending OTAs and Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver simply said, “Relationships are hard,” when asked about the star corner’s upcoming departure. Wolfe mentioned the Rams, Panthers, and Falcons as teams to look out for. Ramsey has played under a member of each team’s coaching staff in the past.

As Schefter notes, Haener was one of three quarterbacks vying for the starting gig in New Orleans. Haener was unlikely to overtake both Spencer Rattler and second-round rookie Tyler Shough on the depth chart and missing time in practice will put him even farther behind. Per Schefter, Haener is expected to miss the remainder of OTAs but should be back for training camp.

Bonsignore’s sources were unable to identify the exact nature of Wilkins’ Jones fracture setback, but Bonsignore says “it essentially comes down to the screw breaking or (in the rare case) he rebroke the bone.” That’s not good. Earlier today, Raiders head coach Pete Carroll told reporters that “this has been a difficult recovery” for Wilkins and he is, unfortunately, “not ready” to resume practicing. Carroll provided an ambiguous expected return date, saying, “there’s a lot of time—and we’re going to take every bit of it.”