NFL Player News

With Noah Fant (groin) still out, Barner continued as the team’s primary pass-catching tight end. He saw four targets, primarily in the short-yardage area, finishing with three catches for 19 yards. Pharaoh Brown caught 2-of-2 targets for 19 yards next to Barner as both fill Fant’s pass-catching role. However, neither is fantasy relevant for Week 13 against the Jets.

That would sideline Godwin for at least four games. Godwin suffered a dislocated ankle in Week 7 last year and has yet to return to practice. He underwent an initial surgery after suffering the injury and needed a second procedure in the spring, though that was reportedly for a minor cleanup. Godwin looks like a safe bet to miss Week 1. Now the question is whether or not Tampa Bay will put him on ice for four games to open the year. First-round rookie Emekea Egbuka will take his place in the lineup for at least Week 1. Egbuka has drawn rave reviews in training camp and is pushing for a WR3 ranking based on recent ADP.

The team signed offensive lineman Yodny Cajuste in a corresponding move. Ifedi made seven starts for the Browns last year and signed with the Dolphins as a depth piece less than two weeks ago. Cajuste’s last NFL snap came in 2022 with the Patriots. While Ifedi wasn’t projected to start for Miami, losing depth this early in training camp is never a good sign.

Rattler began the preseason as the Saints’ starter and continues to get the practice reps for it. Johnson reports that rookie Tyler Shough and Rattler rotated with the first team in Wednesday’s practice, with Rattler getting “an extended look.” Meanwhile, Jake Haener took just four third-team scrimmage snaps. Johnson believes he is the odd man out of the starting quarterback competition. The Saints’ quarterback room has taken shape with Rattler starting, Shough the backup, and Haener third. Head coach Kellen Moore could go with Rattler to start the season with Shough waiting in the wings to take over eventually.

The Cowboys front office and Parsons and his camp have yet to restart talks on a contract extension. Jones said ,"I don’t know that necessarily talks will” pick up when the team goes to Dallas and that “nothing” is preventing the discussion, though clearly there is a rift between the two parties. When approached by reporters on the topic, Parsons said, “my mouth’s closed.” The relationship between Parsons and the Cowboys still seems in the bitter stages of the contract dispute, though the 26-year-old is present at training camp. Jones adamantly expects Parsons to play under his current contract, saying, “You don’t have deadlines when you’re playing under a contract.” The Parsons-Cowboys contract saga remains at a stalemate as the regular season approaches.

The move ends Means’ season unless he is released with an injury settlement. Means went down with an apparent lower leg injury in the Saints’ preseason opener versus the Chargers and was carted to the locker room. The second-year wideout had a chance at carving out a rotational role behind Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed before going down with the injury. Brandin Cooks now appears to be locked into the WR3 job for New Orleans.

Sanders injured his oblique early in Wednesday’s practice and did not return. He could return for Friday’s practice before suiting up versus the Eagles on Saturday, but that looks like an extremely unlikely outcome at this point. Dillon Gabriel is dealing with a hamstring issue but participated in 11-on-11 drills today, putting him on track to play in Cleveland’s second preseason game. Kenny Pickett is also dealing with a hamstring issue and looks unlikely to suit up. If healthy, Gabriel should get plenty of reps over the weekend. As the only healthy quarterback contending for a starting job in Cleveland, Joe Flacco remains on pace to start in Week 1.

The Vikings took Asamoah in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft but failed to find a role for him on defenese. He did, however, develop into a high-volume contributor on special teams. Asamoah was active for all 17 games last year and logged 321 special teams snaps. That will likely be his path to sticking on the Titans’ roster.

Beckham signed with the Dolphins last year but failed to make it to the end of the season in Miami. The two sides agreed to part ways after OBJ was targeted once in Week 14. He caught nine passes for 55 scoreless yards in nine games as a Dolphin. It’s possible Beckham has something left in the tank, though he hasn’t topped 600 yards in a season since 2019. At this point in his career, Beckham is best deployed as a depth piece on a contending team. Given his pedigree, Beckham should be able to find a spot on a roster before Week 1 if he’s willing to take a team-friendly contract. For fantasy purposes, there’s no meat on the bone here, no matter where Beckham signs.

Johnson gave his starters the day off for Chicago’s first preseason game of the year. He told reporters that having the starters skip last week’s game and suit up versus Buffalo maximizes the number of reps they can get. That means we should see at least a few drives from Caleb Williams and company. Reports from camp have been mixed at best, but it’s impossible to say what the offense will look like until they take the field for an actual game. Their date with Buffalo could also give fantasy managers more insight into how the rookies, Colston Loveland and Luther Burden, will be deployed. Both rookies played with the backups last week.

Jefferson suffered a mild hamstring strain at the start of camp and has yet to return to practice. O’Connell told reporters he will be re-evaluated next week, meaning Jefferson will be held out of Minnesota’s joint practices with the Patriots. While you never want to see your first-round fantasy pick missing time with a hamstring injury, there’s still nearly a month to go before the start of the season and Jefferson doesn’t necessarily need the practice reps. Fantasy managers should get more clarity on the situation when O’Connell gives an update next week. Until then, Jefferson is firmly planted in the first six picks of fantasy drafts.