NFL Player News

This was a quiet game for Thomas until he took advantage of a busted coverage to stroll into the end zone with a 62-yard touchdown connection with Mac Jones. That seemed to get things going, and it’s another big game for the 22-year-old rookie. He’s picked up at least eight catches in the last three games, and gone over the century mark in back-to-back contests. Even as the Jaguars struggle, Thomas Jr. continues to look like a future superstar. His next chance to impress comes the Titans in Week 17.

Cimini notably puts Reynolds ahead of incumbent Allen Lazard, whom he believes could be traded to the Steelers after preseason play concludes, if the Jets are “comfortable with their receiver depth.” 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, which Reiss reports was “seemingly good to [the wide receiver] position, with everyone pushing each other, creating competition that raised the overall level.” He 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, with all making consistent plays this spring.” He compliments John Jiles as well. Reiss thinks Polk would “be deep on the depth chart initially” if he were to make the roster. Polk can still turn things around by buying into the new staff’s “effort and finish” mentality, but being traded to another team could give him better odds of competing for a starting role.

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.

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.