NFL Player News

Cohen was signed to the Panthers’ practice squad earlier this month, but hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2020. The former Bears running back has been held back by a series of knee injuries while away, but could have a chance to factor in on special teams and offense for the Panthers as he gets more reps under his belt. Cohen doesn’t have any fantasy relevance until we see him in regular season action. Even then, it’s possible his comeback story outweighs whatever he does from a fantasy perspective.

This is seemingly a continuation of Legwold’s Wednesday report, where he indicated the recently signed J.K. Dobbins will “get a long look in [the Broncos’] third-down role” and quoted head coach Sean Payton complimenting Dobbins’ rushing ability. Still, this is quite the decline in projection for Harvey, who Payton assessed as having three-down potential in mid-May. Things are not yet set in stone, but Harvey may have to seriously compete for a PPR-friendly role in training camp and preseason play.

The Broncos’ mandatory minicamp has officially wrapped up, with no sign of Vele. Per Athlon Sports’ Douglas Santo, “Payton did say some players would not be attending minicamp for personal reasons.” Payton did not disclose the reason for Vele’s absence. Hopefully, this is not injury-related, and Vele is away somewhere, honing his craft. Santo adds, “reports from media who attended the Broncos’ OTAs were that Vele added muscle this offseason and his route running had been more pristine.”

Per Detroit Lions’ reporter Tim Twentyman, Choice believes “the sky is the limit” for Gibbs, whom he calls “one of the smartest running backs I’ve ever coached.” Choice is intimately familiar with Gibbs’ game, having “recruited and coached Gibbs at Georgia Tech.” While we would reasonably expect Gibbs, an elite back, to “consistently produce at a high level year after year,” Gibbs could feasibly take on a larger workload than the eighth-ranked 302 touches handled in his overall RB1 season last year. Gibbs is currently being drafted as the PPR RB3.

While confirmation of the injury’s mild severity would be reassuring, we’ll take both Tillman’s starter status and Jackson’s injury belief as positives. Tillman has beatable competition for the No. 2 wide receiver role, facing journeyman Diontae Johnson for the gig. TE David Njoku will likely function as the passing game’s No. 2 overall weapon, but Tillman should still be able to return matchup-based flex value as the de facto No. 3.

Richardson reportedly met with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who believes the 23-year-old quarterback should be ready for training camp with “rest and recuperation.” Rapoport says the Colts “want health, and a real competition at quarterback, and it sounds like they’ll get it.” Richardson, apparently, still has a chance to claim the starting role over newcomer Daniel Jones. Hopefully, the rehab process goes smoothly for him. Richardson can score fantasy points with the best of them when healthy.

Rapoport parsed Parsons’ comments from earlier today, saying, “it sounds like the term was just as much of an issue as the money.” Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta, “generally pushes for shorter deals,” while the Cowboys “like longer deals.” Rapoport closed the segment by joking with NFL Insiders co-host Tom Pelissero about the deal likely being signed “two hours before kickoff” in Week 1, as they did when the Cowboys signed Dak Prescott to an extension last season.

The current lease is set to expire after the 2025 NFL season and the two sides are very far apart, with their respective demands. Paycor Stadium needs renovations, and Hamilton County has offered to pay $270 million of the proposed $830 million required for the job. The county asks for $350 million from the state and $210 million from the Bengals. Per PFT, “the team has proposed spending $200 million of its own money, but with $45 million of that coming from money spent “years ago” on renovations.” The county is also asking the Bengals to sign a lease lasting 20 years, but the Bengals are instead angling for a five-year agreement.

Akers’ audition at the Saints’ June 10-12 mandatory minicamp was a success. The development is bad news for Kendre Miller, Devin Neal and Clyde Edwards-Helaire. The trio was competing for the No. 2 spot behind the soon-to-be 30-year-old Alvin Kamara, who could use a reliable rushing complement. Akers ran well last year, playing for both the Texans and Vikings. Active for Weeks 9-Wild Card Weekend with the latter team, Akers averaged 4.9 yards per carry and 3.0 yards after contact. The depth chart is not yet set in stone, but Akers is best treated as the presumed No. 2 at this time.

It’s an unfortunate development for a once-promising, yet troubled player. The 2022 sixth-round pick broke out in 2023, ranking second on the team with eight forced incompletions. He was arrested on firearms-related charges that same year. Kendrick suffered a season-ending ACL tear during the Rams’ 2024 training camp, when he could not afford another negative development. Perhaps another team will invite him for a training camp tryout this summer.

Loveland recently told reporters that “the plan” is for him to be ready for the start of training camp, citing “strength and mobility” as the two key factors that will determine his readiness to participate fully as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery. Regarding the “mental side of things,” Loveland “has received rave reviews.” He also told reporters that he plans to host his own walkthroughs in order to further learn the playbook installations, in addition to (seemingly) participating in the live walkthroughs with the team. Bair thinks No. 2 TE “Cole Kmet will be heavily involved in this offense,” but clearly states that Loveland is the top receiving threat in this position group, and that he should contribute meaningfully to the Bears’ passing game productivity.