NFL Player News

Tampa was a fourth-round selection by the Ravens in this year’s draft. The former Iowa State Cyclone is expected to serve primarily as depth in the Ravens’ vaunted secondary this season and has made a name for himself for his physical style of play over his last two years as a starter. His absence could slow his development and ability to make any kind of an impact early in the season, but this doesn’t appear to be anything major.

Richardson’s stock continues to rise after a tumultuous offseason that had some questioning whether or not he’d be ready for camp due to a shoulder injury. The former first-round pick reportedly turned in another strong practice on Thursday that featured a handful of deep passes that left Steichen praising his level of play thus far. The Athletic’s James Boyd believes the QB camp battle between Richardson and Daniel Jones is “neck and neck” thus far, which may lead to a more drawn-out process to determine the Week 1 starter against the Dolphins. We would still expect both Jones and Richardson to make starts at some point in the season, but the gap between the two signal-callers may not be as wide as initially thought after Richardson turned in one of the worst quarterback performances in recent memory last season.

This is about as strange a negotiation as one could imagine. According to Russini, Parsons and owner Jerry Jones “spoke directly’ about a deal on multiple occasions this offseason, with the team reportedly believing a deal had been reached during those discussions. However, Parsons believed “the talks were just conversations” and ultimately wished for his agent to handle negotiations. Russini then reports that when Parsons’ agent attempted to reach out, the team “declined to engage with him and told Parsons that they believed they already had a deal.” It goes without saying that things aren’t great between Parsons and the Cowboys, with reports their relationship having completely “deteriorated.” Parsons is expected to become the highest-paid non-QB in league history whenever a deal is reached. While that would almost certainly go a long way in repairing things, there’s little reason to believe a deal is on the horizon at this point in time.

Lemieux appeared in seven games for the Saints last season while making four starts. The sixth-year vet has appeared in just 25 games since being drafted No. 150 overall by the Giants in 2020, and shouldn’t be considered a lock to make the roster this season. Per PFF, Lemieux played on 337 snaps at center last season, earning a blocking grade of 51.1.

Russini reports Parsons could request a trade or may make “a declaration that he is severing his relationship with the team.” The star pass rusher has shown goodwill throughout his contract negotiations as he seeks a new deal, participating in mandatory minicamp earlier this offseason while also reporting to training camp. He’s missed practice due to a “back injury” that many are viewing as an attempt to hold in to avoid camp fines, but regardless, Parsons has been in the building. Parsons said last week that there hadn’t been “much movement” in negotiations between him and the team, which means we shouldn’t expect to see him on the field any time soon. The price for Parsons is only going to go up the longer the Cowboys avoid paying him. Locking him in for the best price possible would have seemed like the ideal thing to do long ago, but instead, the Cowboys prefer to string things along for reasons known only to them. This continues to be a stalemate that doesn’t appear anywhere close to a resolution, and now runs the risk of alienating Parsons from the team if things aren’t resolved shortly.

This doesn’t exactly come as surprising news. Austin, who is entering the fourth and final year of his rookie deal, posted a career-high receiving line of 36-548-4 last season but has also served as the team’s primary punt returner since 2023. He’s a solid role player who can add an element of speed to the offense and special teams, but there’s been little reason to expect he would receive an extension before playing out the final year of his contract. Austin doesn’t have fantasy upside entering this season and can be avoided in most leagues and formats.

We’d expect to know more about the severity of Williams’ injury once head coach Aaron Glenn speaks to the media at the end of Friday’s practice. The star defensive tackle injured his calf during Thursday’s practice and was not spotted on the field Friday. Williams totaled 37 tackles, six sacks, and eight TFLs last season, earning a third-straight trip to the Pro Bowl. We’ll provide an update on Williams’ status when the team announces it.

According to Pelissero, Mayfield finished out Thursday’s practice after hitting his hand and underwent scans as a precaution. The scans ruled out any significant injury, and the veteran quarterback is considered to be day-to-day with his hand bruise. We wouldn’t expect this to be much of an issue by next week.

The Commanders’ WR1 officially requested a trade on Thursday as he and the team remain in a stalemate over a contract extension for the veteran receiver. According to Jhabvala, “several teams” called the Commanders prior to his trade request on Thursday to inquire about McLaurin’s availability, but “were told the team will not trade him.” McLaurin will turn 30 shortly after the season starts, which is reportedly the biggest point of contention regarding his contract and the average annual value he hopes to receive on his new deal. Where things go from here is anybody’s guess, but we’ve seen players in the past request a trade only to stay with their current team on a new deal. Brandon Aiyuk, Tee Higgins, and Myles Garrett all made trade requests within the past year, only to receive deals. Things aren’t great between the Commanders and McLaurin, a contract resolution still seems more likely than a trade despite his request.

The rookie third-rounder has a stunningly athletic profile on paper, and it was translating on the preseason field against the Bolts’ second- and third-team defenders. Capable of being used all over the field — including as a special teams gunner — TeSlaa is the kind of player who could get on the field earlier than expected and quickly multiply his playing time. We just haven’t seen or read anything to lead us to believe he’s ready to make a 2025 impact in 12-team re-draft leagues. Admittedly, it’s early. TeSlaa is worth keeping an eye on.

The blazing-fast fifth-round rookie was facing second- and third-team defenders, but he was blowing by them. That’s what he’s reportedly been doing in the early days of Bolts camp, as well. There are snaps and routes for the taking in this receiver corps, and the Day 3 pick is at least putting himself in the mix. All that being said, there’s a long way to go between now and Week 1.