NFL Player News

It’s possible that Hall Jr. starts training camp on the PUP list depending on how many months are involved. Hall Jr missed five games due to a personal conduct policy suspension this season after a domestic violence arrest. He wound up playing eight games and finishing with one sack, 14 combined tackles, and six quarterback hits as a rotational lineman.

Locke is one of the first NFL players to undergo spinal fusion surgery, sharing his journey in a personal documentary YouTube video. He dealt with the pain from the surgery early on, but says he does not feel pain now. Locke started 15 games and the playoff loss for the Broncos and is a key member of a daunting secondary. The 28-year-old missed offseason workouts due to rehab and is preparing to be ready for the regular season.

Rodgers did not sign with the Steelers until late in the offseason, leaving him little time to build chemistry with the team’s receivers through offseason workouts. However, Rodgers posted a photo on social media with WRs DK Metcalf, Calvin Austin, Roman Wilson, Scotty Miller, and Ben Skowronek and TE Pat Freiermuth. He had invited offensive skill players to work out with him and these six have taken up the offer thus far. Metcalf and Freiermuth are likely to be two of the top options in the Steelers offense, with Austin and Wilson mixing in behind. Newly acquired Jonnu Smith is not there, though he just joined the team this week. Rodgers is headed for a final season in Pittsburgh and is looking to build further rapport with his pass-catchers for one last hurrah.

A UDFA from Eastern Washington, Chism has been singled out by Drake Maye and coach Mike Vrabel for his impressive showing during the early offseason sessions. Chism put up videogame numbers in the Eagles’ high-flying passing attack last year, totaling 120 catches for 1,311 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2024. Despite the gaudy counting stats, Chism’s 5'10/195 build combined with a dreadful 4.71 Forty led to all 32 teams passing on him during the draft. He will likely be parked behind Demario Douglas as a rookie, but Chism could be worth a look in deep dynasty leagues if he makes noise during training camp.

Hensley called the second-year wideout “the front-runner to be Baltimore’s No. 4 wide receiver” job. It’s not much, but that would be a drastic improvement over the role Walker played as a rookie. He appeared in nine games and caught one pass, a 21-yard score in Week 15. A fourth-round pick in 2024, Walker was drafted as a developmental vertical threat and simply wasn’t ready to take on a meaningful role as a rookie. Coaches and reporters have talked him up this offseason, allowing dynasty managers to leave the light on for him in 2025.

It’s hardly surprising to hear a head coach urge a rookie back to get better as a blocker. Pass protection is usually a roadblock to consistent snaps for rookie runners. “From protection systems in college to the pros, that’s usually where you see some of the tempo slow down for them – playing slower, thinking more – is when pass-pro starts to kind of bog the mind,” Coen said. “I think [Tuten] has done a solid job. I know he needs a lot more work, which all those guys do.” The 104th selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, Tuten racked up 1,159 yards and 15 touchdowns on 183 attempts in his final collegiate season at Virginia Tech. He also functioned as a kicker return, a role he could experiment with in Jacksonville this summer. PFF graded Tuten in 2024 as the nation’s 98th best blocking back out of 148 qualifying backs. He’ll need to improve in that area if he’s going to seize the RB1 role in the Jaguars backfield in 2025.

Waller, 32, came out of retirement Tuesday and was immediately traded to the Dolphins in exchange for draft-pick compensation. Waller joins one of the NFL’s thinnest tight end depth charts, alongside Pharaoh Brown, Jalin Conyers, and Julian Hill. None of those players will threaten Waller’s role as the team’s primary pass-catching tight end. A seam-stretcher for most of his NFL career, Waller will bring something very different to the Miami offense than what they had with YAC machine Jonnu Smith. Waller, who had 52 grabs on 70 targets for the Giants in 2023, should be the No. 3 target behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

The lawsuit against Hairston claims he assaulted a woman at the University of Kentucky in 2021 — an incident that was reported to authorities before the woman transferred out of the university. Buffalo selected Hairston with the 30th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Bills did not comment on the lawsuit. When asked about allegations of Hairston’s involvement in a campus sexual assault, Bills general manager Brandon Beans said the “organization felt the matter was thoroughly investigated and felt there was no truth behind the allegations,” according to WKBW. Beans said of the sexual assault allegations against Hairston: “There doesn’t seem to be anything there.” Hairston is iffy for Bills training camp with a hamstring issue.

“This isn’t going to be as easy as the last contract with T.J., where he was in his prime ... they saw a little bit of a decline last year,” Dulac believes. Ja’Marr Chase currently holds the record in average per year at $40.25 million for a non-quarterback, though Myles Garrett’s $88.8 million in guarantees dwarfs it. It’s unclear which dollar figure Watt is coming after, but what is clear is that this could drag on well into training camp and perhaps, as Dulac suggests, right up to the beginning of the regular season. With Trey Hendrickson and Micah Parsons also vying to be in the highest-paid non-quarterback space, we have plenty of contract drama ahead of us on the edge during training camp and the preseason.

“His ability to separate could also translate into more production than people currently expect from him,” Buscaglia continues. If Palmer is able to be the Z-receiver that the Bills did not have last year, he could translate the role into fantasy production. Currently Khalil Shakir goes off the board near the end of the top-100 picks and Keon Coleman is the “sleeper option” closer to 125. If Palmer did emerge in this way, it’s certainly possible that none of the Bills main receivers would amount to more than a WR3.

Bland played the slot predominantly in his rookie season, but since then has just 123 defensive snaps (of 1,456 total) in the slot over the past two years per PFF. This likely leaves Shavon Revel Jr. and Kaiir Elam as the main outside corners. In fantasy terms: outside receivers are likely to be more successful against the Cowboys this year based on them moving their best corner into the nickel role on passing downs.