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Greg Dortch, meanwhile, is iffy to suit up against the Bears as he deals with shoulder issue. Brown hasn’t been at full health for quite a while, and has left recent games for long stretches with various ailments. Look for Michael Wilson and Trey McBride to be targeted heavily against Chicago. Rotoworld’s Denny Carter wrote about the matchup in Week 16’s Funnel Defense Report.

Simmons, 31, spent last season with the Falcons after playing for the Broncos for the first eight years of his career. A two-time Pro Bowler who led the league with six interceptions in 2022, Simmons has played in and started 31 of a possible 34 regular season games over the last to seasons and earned a PFF coverage grade of 60.8 last season. The Panthers ranked dead last in points and yards allowed per game last season and ranked 30th in yards per attempt allowed. Simmons would provide an immediate upgrade to a defense that’s hoping to take a big step forward in 2025.

Addison pleaded not guilty last December to charges stemming from a DUI arrest in July 2024. With the third-year receiver set to face a trial next month, it’s possible that any decision by the league to suspend Addison for his arrest could follow shortly after a verdict is reached. The third-year receiver could miss multiple games in 2025 if he is suspended, which may result in fantasy managers needing to find alternative options for the first month of the season. Things remain wait-and-see at this time, but if Addison were to be suspended, Jalen Nailor could see an increased role during his absence.

Smith did not report to minicamp, as he continues to push for a long-term extension with the Dolphins or a trade to a team that is willing to give him the deal he is looking for. The veteran tight end is in the final year of a two-year deal he signed last offseason, but is looking to earn far more than the $4.640 million he’s owed after breaking out for 88-884-8 last season — all career bests. Head coach Mike McDaniel said the team is not looking to trade Smith, but until a new deal is in place, we wouldn’t assume a trade is completely off the table. With training camp roughly a month away, there is still time for both sides to figure things out.

Cimini notably puts Reynolds ahead of incumbent Allen Lazard, whom he believes could be traded to the Steelers after preseason play concludes. With Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall and potentially rookie TE Mason Taylor commanding defensive attention, Reynolds should be afforded one-on-one opportunities downfield. Although he is highly unlikely to provide weekly flex value in managed re-draft formats, he could return value as a last-round best ball pick, or occasionally be a worthwhile DFS flyer.

Polk has been limited through spring practices. Reiss counts Stefon Diggs, Mack Hollins, Pop Douglas and Kyle Williams as locks to make the roster and said Kayshon Boutte, Kendrick Bourne and Efton Chism III comprise the next tier. Reiss thinks Polk would “be deep on the depth chart initially” if he were to make the roster. Polk can still turn things around, but it has been a rough 18 months for him in New England so far and Mike Vrabel didn’t draft him.

Hendrickson did not report to minicamp last week, as his highly publicized negotiations (or lack thereof) with the Bengals continue. The star pass rusher who has racked up 35 sacks over the last two seasons is in the final year of his contract, but is seeking an extension that will pay him close to $30 million annually — nearly double the $15.8 million he’s set to earn this year. The Bengals signed receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to massive extensions this offseason and also brought back Mike Gesicki on a three-year contract. With nearly $32 million in cap space to play with this season, it’s possible the Bengals find a way to get a deal done with Hendrickson despite several highly paid players already locked into deals. This is at least a step in the right direction after Hendrickson claimed in May that conversations between him and the team stalled after the draft.

Shipley adds that “all four (running backs) get some run at some point,” but believes Etienne will have a chance to hold on to his new role under the new regime. Etienne is coming off a second-straight season in which he averaged less than 4.0 YPC and less than 5.0 yards per touch. The former first-round pick has struggled to match the success he enjoyed in 2022, and lost work to Tank Bigsby during parts of last season. The addition of speedster Bhayshul Tuten in the fourth round of this year’s draft immediately led to speculation that Etienne’s time as the Jaguars’ lead back could be coming to an end. While that still may be the case, it sounds as if he’ll have every chance to prove he’s deserving of the top role to open the season in Week 1 against the Panthers. Bigsby and Tuten still make for interesting late-round values given Etienne’s recent track history, but they shouldn’t be viewed as anything more than high-end handcuffs at this time.

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.