The Dolphins released WR Chosen Anderson. He appeared to be running as Miami's No. 4 WR this summer, but the Fins are evidently going with Cedrick Wilson in that spot instead. Braxton Berrios is expected to be the No. 3, slot receiver in 3-WR sets.
The Vikings released RB DeWayne McBride. A favorite of some in the analytics community, McBride sunk to the seventh round of this spring's draft and didn't make any noise in August. He's miles away from fantasy relevance at the moment. Ty Chandler will open the season as Minnesota's No. 2 RB behind Alexander Mattison.
The Cowboys released RB Malik Davis. They'll roll with RBs Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn behind starter Tony Pollard to open the season. Neither Dowdle nor Vaughn figure to have fantasy value behind Pollard. And a Pollard injury would likely result in a committee backfield.
Panthers WR Terrace Marshall (back) returned to practice on Tuesday. He wound up missing about two weeks. Marshall projects as the No. 4 in a healthy Carolina WR corps, but WR D.J. Chark is still sidelined with his hamstring injury.
The Titans are sending a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Patriots for K Nick Folk, according to NFL Network. That moves last year's No. 8 kicker in total fantasy points to a negative situation. Randy Bullock ranked last among regular kickers in fantasy points per game as the Titans' primary guy last year, despite missing only three FG attempts and going perfect on extra points. You can find the aftermath of this bombshell in our fantasy kicker rankings.
RB Dalvin Cook practiced with the Jets for the first time on Tuesday. He signed a little over two weeks ago but still needed to be medically cleared from offseason shoulder surgery and was away for the birth of his first child. ESPN's Adam Schefter confirms that Cook is expected to play in the season opener vs. the Bills. How snaps are split between Cook and RB Breece Hall is one of the biggest fantasy questions of Week 1.
The Saints' trade of K Wil Lutz to Denver leaves Blake Grupe as the starter. Insider Luke Johnson reports that Grupe beat out Lutz for the job in camp. Grupe is an undrafted rookie who spent four seasons at Arkansas State before transferring to Notre Dame last year. He converted 74.3% of his college FGs. Grupe is not a viable fantasy option early in the season.
The Broncos swung a trade for K Wil Lutz from New Orleans. Lutz reunites with former Saints HC and current Broncos HC Sean Payton. How strong a fantasy option Lutz will be this season depends entirely on whether Payton can help lead Denver's offense to a bounce-back season.
The Cardinals released RB Corey Clement. It's confirmation that Keaontay Ingram has won the No. 2 RB job behind James Conner. Ingram is worth a look near the end of deeper fantasy drafts.
The Giants are releasing WR Jamison Crowder, according to NFL Network. It's not surprising given the glut of slot receivers on that roster -- especially with Wan'Dale Robinson coming off the PUP list. We'll see who remains at WR after the final cuts.
Colts TE Jelani Woods still hasn't returned to practice after going down with a hamstring injury on the fourth day of training camp. He also missed much of the spring with hamstring trouble. "Hopefully sooner than later," HC Shane Steichen said Monday when asked when Woods would be back. We'll see if Woods lands on the active roster or is placed on reserve/PUP to open the season. He remains an intriguing talent but won't be an early-season fantasy option.
The Chiefs are expecting "big things" from WR Justyn Ross, according to NFL Network's James Palmer. "Ross has had a very good camp," Palmer adds. We've seen plenty of highlights from Ross' camp performance, but he didn't get many first-team reps this preseason. He's not a viable fantasy option out of the gate but is an intriguing stash in deep fantasy leagues.
NFL Network's James Palmer hears that there's "optimism" that WR Kadarius Toney (knee) will be ready for next Thursday night's season opener vs. the Lions. He's been out since undergoing knee surgery in late July but is expected back at practice by the end of this week. "This week is gonna be very important," Palmer added. "They think he's doing great in terms of his recovery, but how he practices this week would be big." We'll keep an eye on Toney's progress, but he shouldn't be in your Week 1 fantasy plans coming off the extended absence.
On Monday, CBS Sports' Josina Anderson tweeted that "at least two teams are still actively working to construct" a deal to acquire Colts RB Jonathan Taylor. Various reports have confirmed one of the teams in on Taylor is the Dolphins, while the other is unknown. Anderson also adds these teams are "willing to give Taylor a market contract," a notable piece of information given the clash he and Colts owner Jim Irsay had earlier this month surrounding a lack of a long-term deal. ESPN's Stephen Holder reported last week that the team has given Taylor until this Tuesday to find a trade partner, so we'll know soon how this situation resolves. Stay tuned for further updates.
Titans WR Treylon Burks (knee) returned to practice on Monday. He'd been sidelined since suffering what was reported as a sprained LCL on August 16. He now has a little less than two weeks to gear up for the season opener. Burks would be a risky fantasy play in that one, but he remains a high-upside fantasy stash.
The Texans are releasing LB Christian Kirksey, who played a full-time role and served as a captain for last year's team. In his place, LB Denzel Perryman has been working with Christian Harris as the top two LBs. Perryman has also worn the green dot on his helmet in preseason games, which means he's conveying play calls from the coordinator to the huddle. That points to a full-time -- or at least nearly -- role and big tackle upside for Perryman. We've moved Perryman up our IDP rankings (and removed Kirksey).
Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba (wrist surgery) is expected to open the season on the active roster, per insider Ian Rapoport. JSN remains highly questionable to play in the opener. But he’s clearly expected back within the first few games. Head to the WR rankings, and you’ll see the rookie projected for 15 games.
The trade of K Dustin Hopkins to Cleveland leaves Cameron Dicker as the Chargers' K. He drilled 21 of 22 FG tries as a rookie last year (19 for the Chargers, two for the Eagles) and is a strong fantasy option on a high-scoring offense.
The Browns acquired K Dustin Hopkins from the Chargers and promptly released K Cade York. York missed eight FGs and two XPs last year and struggled this preseason, so the move doesn't come as a big surprise. Hopkins sports a career 84.8% FG conversion rate and is squarely on the fantasy radar kicking for what should be a strong Cleveland offense.
The Cardinals will keep QB Kyler Murray on the physically unable to perform list to open the regular season, according to multiple reports. That's no surprise, as Murray continues to work back from a November ACL tear. He'll miss at least the first four games. We've had Murray projected to miss five games all along in your fantasy football rankings. The Cardinals are also releasing QB Colt McCoy. That'll mean it's either rookie Clayton Tune or newly acquired Josh Dobbs starting for Arizona over the first month. We'll see who wins that post between now and Week 1.
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