NFL Player News

Golladay was a late addition to the team’s injury report, as the veteran receiver is reportedly dealing with an illness that will sideline him for the week. The Giants will likely look to Richie James to lead a depleted wide receiver corps against a stout Commanders defense. The Giants also declared CB Adoree’ Jackson, CB Darnay Holmes, G Shane Lemieux, G Joshua Ezeudu, TE Lawrence Cager and LB Elerson Smith as inactive

Passing comments from HC Zac Taylor in end-of-season exit meetings, prompted Iosivas to seek out the acclaimed Lieberman, whose recent students include Brandon Aiyuk, Evan Engram, Jakobi Meyers and Dontayvion Wicks. Taylor imparted the same message unto Brown, and Iosivas later extended the invitation to join him and Lieberman in Atlanta. The duo spent the first of two months training in Lieberman’s unique catching system before focusing on route running techniques. Both players face in-house competition for their respective receiving opportunities but Dehner’s report is a positive step toward weekly fantasy football relevance.

Speaking with ESPN’s Michael DiRocco, Engram said his “role was underneath being the security blanket for Trevor [Lawrence]” last season, which was evident by his 5.0 ADOT — a career-low for the eighth-year tight end. Now, Engram hopes to earn more opportunities as a field stretcher, which is a role he saw as a rookie in 2017 when he ranked 11th amongst tight ends with a 9.0 ADOT (min. 50 targets) and tied for third in deep targets (15). Engram turned in the most productive year of his career last season, catching 114-of-140 passes for 963 yards — all career-highs, while finding the end zone four times. He finished the season as the TE4 in fantasy points per game (13.9), but an expanded role as a deep threat will almost certainly lead to fewer targets and receptions. The trade-off, should this come to fruition, would be more explosive plays and scores for him in 2024, but his PPR ranking could take a bit of a hit after it spent last season being fueled by short targets and receptions. Engram still profiles as a mid-TE1, but fantasy managers will want to be mindful of his impending usage when drafting him this season.

According to Auman, Godwin’s role will be “the role Cooper Kupp had with the Rams when [offensive coordinator Liam] Coen was there.” Godwin played just 37 percent of his snaps from the slot last season — his lowest total since 2018. From 2021 to 2022, the veteran receiver played 71.7 percent of his snaps from the slot and caught 202 passes over that span. Godwin saw inconsistent usage throughout much of last season but managed to see 42 targets over his final five games. Kupp was only healthy for nine games during Coens’ lone season as the Rams offensive coordinator, but during that span, the Rams ranked eighth in slot targets (102) and third in dropbacks from 11 personnel (311) per FantasyPoints.com. Under Coen, Godwin has a chance to see a bounce-back season after an underwhelming 2023. He’s currently going as a low-end WR3 in PPR leagues but could have high-end WR2 upside if he returns to form in 2024.

Prescott was spotted in a walking boot while deep-sea fishing earlier this week. Prescott said he was wearing the boot because the last time he went deep-sea fishing, his ankle swelled up. He also added that it’s the “same ankle, same issues” he’s been dealing with since he suffered a season-ending ankle injury in 2020, but told the Star-Telegram, “I’m great,” when questioned about the status of his ankle. There doesn’t seem to be any major concern about Prescott or the health of his ankle heading into training camp. We’ll assume everything is good to go until we have reason to believe otherwise.

The original photo of Prescott in the walking boot was posted to social media on Wednesday, with Rapoport confirming the reason for the boot the next day. According to Rapoport, Prescott has been dealing with the sprain for “a few days” and the injury is not expected to affect his preparation for the upcoming season. Prescott is entering the final year of a four-year contract he signed in 2021, and could be playing for another new deal this season if he and the Cowboys remain at an impasse before the start of this season. While this injury is certainly something to monitor, it doesn’t sound like there’s much to be concerned about at this time.

Johnson returned to the Rams last season on a one-year contract and is now re-upping with the team for the 2024 season. In his 2023 return, Johnson started eight of the 17 games he appeared in for the Rams while totaling two interceptions and six pass breakups. The veteran provides plenty of experience as a starter and will likely play in a similar backup role this season.

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.