Chargers HC Brandon Staley labeled RB Isaiah Spiller "week to week" with the ankle injury he suffered in Saturday's preseason game. Spiller's availability for Week 1 is uncertain, Staley added. That kills any chance the rookie had of winning the #2 RB job to open the season. RB Joshua Kelley is the favorite for that spot, although he's still an underwhelming fantasy pick.
Giants rookie EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux suffered only an MCL sprain in the right knee that got bent in by a low block in Sunday night's preseason game. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the team expects Thibodeaux to miss only 3-4 weeks and is even hoping he'll be ready by the regular-season opener. It's obviously a much better outcome than many feared after watching the hit that knocked him out. The Giants could use the pass-rushing skills of the rookie, who has reportedly had a good training camp.
The Chargers on Monday activated LB Kenneth Murray from the PUP list. He opened training camp there after having surgery in April on the injured ankle that ended his 2021 season. The former 1st-round pick is no lock to reclaim a staring job this season after struggling through his 1st year under HC Brandon Staley. Kyle Van Noy and Drue Tranquill have looked like the top 2 non-edge LBs for the Chargers.
Bucs WR Mike Evans was back on the practice field on Monday, about 2-and-a-half weeks after hurting a hamstring. HC Todd Bowles said Evans did "a little bit," so it sounds like he was limited. We'll keep an eye on his progress. But, barring a setback, he should be ready to roll come Week 1.
Bucs WR Chris Godwin participated in 11 on 11s for the first time on Monday. He wore a non-contact jersey, but it’s still another step forward for the 26-year-old. Godwin remains a question mark for Week 1.
Lions beat writer Kyle Meinke writes that there is "no doubt” Austin Seibert will enter Week 1 as the team’s kicker. Seibert, who boasts a stronger leg than competitor Riley Patterson, is an 82% FG kicker for his career. He isn’t one of our top kicker targets.
The Panthers officially named QB Baker Mayfield their starter. This was expected since Carolina swung a trade for Mayfield in early July. He started the preseason opener over QB Sam Darnold, going 4-of-7 for 45 yards on 1 series. Mayfield is just a lower-end QB2 for fantasy squads, but we expect him to be an upgrade over Darnold for RB Christian McCaffrey, WR D.J. Moore and the rest of the Panthers offense.
Washington has activated TE Logan Thomas from the PUP list, making him available to practice a little more than 2 weeks ahead of the regular-season opener. That should point to Thomas being active to open the season, though we'll see how close he can get to regular use before Week 1. He is still just a little more than 8 months behind tearing the ACL, MCL and meniscus in his left knee.
Ravens TE Isaiah Likely exploded for 8 catches, 100 yards and a score in Sunday's preseason game vs. the Cardinals. The Ravens sat their key offensive starters -- and so did the Cardinals defense -- but it was an impressive performance nonetheless. Likely, of course, will play behind TE Mark Andrews when the games start to count. But, considering Baltimore's thin WR corps, there's a chance Likely sees enough work to make some noise. He's at least worth a look near the end of TE-premium drafts.
Seahawks HC Pete Carroll gave up an update on RB Kenneth Walker's recovery from hernia surgery on Sunday and didn't sound as optimistic as he did last week. “He’s still pretty tender,” Carroll said. “I was with him today. He’s got some things to heal, to go in and do what they did. So, it’s just a matter of time, but we don’t have a designated sequence yet. We’ll have to see how he responds.” It sounds like Walker isn't a lock to be ready for Week 1, as had been reported originally. Look for Rashaad Penny to operate as Seattle's lead back for at least the first few weeks of the season.
Panthers WR Terrace Marshall missed Friday's preseason game against the Patriots with his hamstring issue, and it doesn't seem like HC Matt Rhule was very happy about it. "I was hoping he'd be ready for the game," Rhule said afterward, per Joseph Person of The Athletic. "But the medical staff and he worked on it; couldn't get ready for the game. We need Terrace to start practicing. We need him to step up." The former 2nd-round pick needs to get back on the field soon if he wants to start rebounding from the disappointing rookie campaign. Fellow 2nd-year WR Shi Smith stands to benefit if Marshall continues to struggle.
Buccaneers QB Tom Brady is back with the team and expected to practice today, according to ESPN's Jenna Laine. With more than 2 weeks to go before the regular-season opener, Brady and his receivers should have plenty of time to get ready.
Seahawks QB Drew Lock returned to practice Sunday after a bout with COVID. He has a shot to start the team's final preseason contest. Lock had been in line to start the previous exhibition and seemed to be pulling ahead of Geno Smith in the competition before this setback. We'll see where this goes now that he's back.
Giants rookie EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux suffered a right knee injury in Sunday night's preseason game against the Bengals. He took a nasty-looking shot to the side of it on a low block but was able to walk off. Jay Glazer reports that Thibodeaux will have an MRI on Monday. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero adds that there's "initial optimism he avoided a major injury." We'll see what the MRI says.
Saints WR Michael Thomas is battling “a little bit of a hamstring” injury, per HC Dennis Allen. He missed practice on Sunday. Thomas, of course, missed all of last season with ankle trouble and last suited up on January 17th, 2021. We’ll let you know when he’s back on the field.
Saints QB Jameis Winston (foot) returned to practice on Sunday. He ended up missing 13 days and New Orleans' first 2 preseason games. We'll see if he plays in the 3rd, but Winston should be ready for the regular-season opener.
Bucs HC Todd Bowles said Sunday that QB Tom Brady is expected to re-join the team "early" this week. We'll wait until Brady is actually back before completing closing the book on this story. But it looks like you can draft Brady as you normally would.
Bears RB Khalil Herbert is participating in practice on Sunday. He left practice early on Saturday with an unknown injury, but apparently it wasn’t anything of significance. The 2nd-year RB remains an intriguing bench stash.
Broncos TE Albert Okwuegbunam played into the 4th quarter of Saturday's preseason game against the Bills. HC Nathaniel Hackett said afterwards that Okwuegbunam "needs the reps." Added Hackett, "Our tight ends are playing really well, the five guys we have playing, so we want to get a good look at all of them. There are guys who played a little more football than others ... I’m excited to see the film and see where (the tight ends) are at.” Okwuegbunam remains the favorite to open the season as Denver's lead pass-catching TE, especially with rookie Greg Dulcich still dealing with hamstring trouble. But it's clear that the Broncos' new coaching staff isn't yet completely sold on him.
Texans HC Lovie Smith commented on WR Nico Collins following Week 2 of the preseason. Collins (6'4, 215) caught a jump ball in the end zone — something Smith hopes to see more of this fall. "Nico's a big target with a lot of talent," Smith said. "We want to get him in those type of [jump ball] situations. We continue to run the ball well. If we run the ball well, we'll get more one-on-one situations for Nico. As I say, he's got length, he can catch the ball. It's a big play by him there. He's capable of making a lot of plays like that.” We’re fully on board with the 2nd-year man as a late-round target in fantasy drafts.
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