NFL Player News

Rapoport adds that Geno Smith “is the starter,” and that Smith is “willing to mentor a young quarterback” and “help Shedeur Sanders take advantage of his talents.” Rapoport also counts the Steelers and Saints as being quarterback-needy teams, saying the Steelers could draft Sanders in the third round, but that the Saints “feel” like a team that could draft Louisville QB Tyler Shough.

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.

As Kay Cabot notes, the injury likely rules Sanders out for the team’s upcoming preseason game against the Eagles. Sanders suffered the injury early in Cleveland’s joint practice with the Eagles and spent the rest of the session watching from the sideline. Dillon Gabriel was able to practice through his hamstring injury, suggesting he could be ready to suit up versus Philly. Gabriel would get an extended look under center if Kenny Pickett remains sidelined with his hamstring injury and Sanders isn’t ready to return by Saturday.

Both quarterbacks are nursing hamstring issues. Neither was able to suit up for the Browns’ first preseason game against the Panthers. Gabriel recently returned to team drills, but Stefanski wasn’t willing to commit to him playing against Philly this weekend. The rookie from Oregon will likely draw the start if healthy. While the battle between the rookies may be the most interesting for Browns fans, all signs point toward one of the veterans starting in Week 1. As the only healthy veteran right now, Joe Flacco is on track to take the first snap of the regular season.

This isn’t the first we’re hearing of a role for the former second-round pick either. ESPN’s Nate Taylor wrote about a potential rotational gig for Thornton last week. Newell calls him a perfect fit for the field-stretching role held by Justin Watson in previous seasons. Thornton was cut by the Patriots in the middle of the 2024 season and the Chiefs quickly scooped him up on their practice squad. A strong start to training camp has him as a heavy favorite to make the team’s 53-man roster. Though he is still a long-shot to be fantasy-relevant this year, Thornton seems to have found his niche in the pros.

Underhill didn’t put a timeline on Penning’s injury but did note that players typically need 4-6 weeks to recover from this type of issue. That would make Penning unlikely to suit up for Week 1, though it’s possible his timeline is shorter. Penning is making the transition from tackle to guard this year, and early reports from training camp were positive. The lost practice reps may be even more detrimental to Penning than a missed game.