NFL Player News

Hopper (6’2/231) was named a captain leading into 2023 and was reasonably productive over his first 10 games until sustaining a shoulder injury that cost him the remainder of the year. He managed to record 55 tackles, 6.0 TFL, and 3.0 sacks in that time frame while receiving Second Team All-SEC honors for his play. He’s most comfortable bringing heat up the middle and breaking forward in run support, but his fills can be inconsistent and he’s lacking the upper body mass to stand up to pulling linemen. While Hopper has the juice to run with both running backs and tight ends, he can sometimes abandon his coverage area in the zone. A weakside linebacker with ample special teams experience, Hopper has the athleticism to carve out a role in the NFL and possibly challenge for regular playing time if he can take to NFL coaching.

This confirms reporting from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that Watson, who suffered a torn ACL last January, will begin the year on PUP. Look for the Packers to ease Watson into the wideout rotation when he’s eligible for return from PUP. He could be a strictly situational downfield option for Jordan Love — who’s undergoing thumb surgery — with Matthew Golden reportedly emerging as Green Bay’s No. 1 wideout. Jayden Reed (foot) could also be iffy for the start of the regular season. The Packers offense is a banged-up unit.

The procedure will fix a ligament injury in Love’s non-throwing hand. The team hopes Love will be able to return to practice next week, though his Week 1 status is uncertain at the moment. The oft-injured Love had expressed interest in running more in 2025. With the thumb issue, perhaps that’s off the table for now. Losing Love would be a massive blow for everyone in the Green Bay offense.

Nabers said last week that it’s “part of the plan” for him to miss portions of Giants practice in the coming weeks as he deals with a shoulder issue. Jets beat writer Connor Hughes said Nabers’ Tuesday absence was “very noteworthy” and could be a sign that the star receiver is dealing with a significant injury. Hopefully Nabers can fully ramp up in the days before the team’s regular season opener against the Commanders. Last year, Nabers had 19 catches for 186 yards and one touchdown in two games against Washington.

Morris’ comments about the injured Mooney suggest the wideout could miss significant time in the regular season. “Kind of just waiting and rolling. Kind of a week-to-week basis,” Morris said of Mooney, who will miss training camp with his shoulder injury. “I feel good about getting him back healthy and ready to go. When? I don’t know. We’ll have him back healthy this year, though.” Mooney in 2024 was a mainstay in two-receiver sets and had 992 receiving yards and five touchdowns as Atlanta’s WR2. His absence would open more routes and targets for KhaDarel Hodge and Ray-Ray McCloud, the team’s primary slot receiver.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott, meanwhile, said “things have changed” in Cook’s ongoing contract talks with the team. Tuesday would mark Cook’s first practice of training camp after he reported refused to play in last weekend’s preseason game against the Giants. It appears his hold-in is over — for now — and he could be on his way to starting Week 1 for the Bills. Cook is coming off an 18-touchdown season thanks to heavy red zone usage he did not see in his first two NFL seasons.

Reports surfaced earlier Monday that Clapp sustained the injury but it wasn’t until Schultz’s report that we had any clue into the severity. Schultz adds that the foot injury is likely to require surgery and would keep Clapp out for the duration of the 2025 regular season, a tough blow to the veteran after he was brought in to operate as a sixth offensive lineman for the Saints. The team is awaiting final confirmation pending follow-on testing but it appears as if Clapp’s season is over before it began.

Scott is reportedly healthy and looking for the right opportunity to contribute, saying he’s in “terrific” shape. He last played in 2023, his sixth season with the Eagles, and could make sense for a team like the Ravens as a contingent third-down option and special teams contributor.

From the words of Texans beat reporter Aaron Wilson, “He appears to be in serious pain. Lot of noise coming from the field team huddled around him. Practice halted as Brevin Jordan is hurting very badly. Inconsolable.” We’ll need official word from the team before any conclusions can be drawn, but it certainly looks like an unfortunate injury for a tight end that was attempting to come back from a lost season in 2024 due to a torn ACL.

Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot broke the news first, stating that the star defensive end was cited going 100 mph in a 60 mph zone just after 2 am Saturday morning after the team returned from Charlotte. Cabot also noted that Garrett had “vowed to slow down” after flipping his Porsche and that the team was aware of his citation. This is unlikely to draw any league discipline but demonstrates an alarming pattern of reckless driving out of Garrett.

We take these depth charts with a grain of salt, but for anybody who thought the team would reward Sanders for his preseason performance with a higher spot on the depth chart, that would appear not to be the case. Sanders was solid in his first taste of pro football, throwing for 138 yards and two scores in nearly three full quarters of play. For now, Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and Dillon Gabriel all remain ahead of Sanders on the depth chart. He should see plenty of action in the Browns’ next preseason game, which will come on Saturday against the Eagles.