Seahawks RB Rashaad Penny (COVID) returned to practice on Tuesday. He missed the required 5 days but remains on track to open the season as Seattle's lead back.
Chargers RB Isaiah Spiller (ankle) returned to practice on Tuesday. He ended up missing 9 days with the ankle injury. Spiller was still sitting 4th on the depth chart when he went down, so he's unlikely to be an early-season factor. But the rookie still has a shot to eventually emerge as the Chargers' #2 RB.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid commented on the progress of RB Ronald Jones. The former Buc managed to make the 53-man roster following cutdowns on Tuesday. “I thought RoJo did a nice job down the stretch, and we know what he's capable of. It's a matter of him being comfortable in the offense,” Reid said. [We] throw a lot at the running backs, and it looked like he was starting to get it down the stretch there. Good football player.” Jones’ Week 1 role remains a mystery, but he’s at least trending in the right direction.
The Raiders released WR Keelan Cole. They're rolling with WRs Mack Hollins, Tyron Johnson and D.J. Turner behind Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow.
The Texans released WR Chris Conley. That leaves them with just 4 WRs on the roster: Brandin Cooks, Nico Collins, Chris Moore and Phillip Dorsett. Houston figures to add to the position over the next few days, but Cooks and Collins are the only fantasy-relevant players here.
The Broncos placed TE Greg Dulcich (hamstring) on IR, knocking him out for at least the first 4 games of the season. It's not a surprise after the rookie missed most of the offseason with core and hamstring injuries. GM George Paton said Dulcich will "100%" be available come Week 5, but he's not worth stashing on standard redraft benches. TE Albert Okwuegbunam will have a chance to lay claim to the lead role in September.
The Titans are releasing QB Logan Woodside. That leaves rookie Malik Willis as the only other QB on the roster besides Ryan Tannehill. We'll see about any other moves, but it looks like the rookie will hit the season as Tannehill's backup. That puts him 1 injury away from being interesting for fantasy.
The 49ers kept 5 RBs on their initial 53-man roster: Elijah Mitchell, Jeff Wilson, Trey Sermon, Ty Davis-Price and Jordan Mason. Mitchell is the clear lead back heading into Week 1, but keeping 5 RB is another sign that San Francisco is worried about Mitchell holding up. Unfortunately, there's no clear-cut handcuff to Mitchell at this point.
The Jets are releasing veteran RB Tevin Coleman. You might have forgotten he was still on the team, with all backfield talk focusing on Breece Hall and Michael Carter, but Coleman ranked 2nd on the team last year in both total carries and carries per game.
The Cowboys are releasing K Brett Maher, but Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News reports that the expect to re-sign him pretty quickly. The move is reportedly being made to allow for other roster moves in setting the initial 53-man roster. So Maher still looks like Dallas' Week 1 kicker.
The Colts are taking LB Shaquille Leonard of the PUP list, according to multiple reports. We'll see what the team says about just when we should expect Leonard to return to the field, but this is obviously good news. It means Indy at least expects its defensive stud to be ready inside the 1st 4 games. Leonard has missed all of training camp and the preseason while recovering from June back surgery.
The Buccaneers are releasing S Logan Ryan, but multiple reports say they expect to re-sign him. Tampa needs a spot on the regular-season roster for C Ryan Jensen so they can put him on IR but with eligibility to return during the year. Because Ryan is a veteran, he's not subject to waivers and can thus choose to wait and re-sign with the team. We'll watch to confirm, but we're expecting Ryan to return and start for the Bucs.
Giants TE Daniel Bellinger practiced on Tuesday, according to insider Art Stapleton. Bellinger left the preseason finale to get checked for a concussion, but he was either cleared then or passed through the protocol already. The rookie remains in line to open the season as New York's lead TE.
The Texans released RB Marlon Mack. If you needed confirmation that Dameon Pierce will open the season as Houston's lead back, here you go. Mack simply hasn't been the same player since tearing his Achilles in September of 2020. We'll see if the 26-year-old gets a shot elsewhere, but he's well off the fantasy radar for now.
The Colts released RB Ty'Son Williams. That comes on the same day the team dumped RB Phillip Lindsay. It leaves Deon Jackson as the only RB on the roster behind Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines.
The Saints are trading DB Chauncey Gardner-Johnson to the Eagles for a 5th-round pick in 2023 and a 6th-rounder in 2024. On the same day, Philly released starting S Anthony Harris. That points to Gardner-Johnson -- who played a lot of slot CB in New Orleans -- lining up next to Marcus Epps as a safety in the Philadelphia defense. CGJ immediately gains IDP value as likely a full-time player for his new team. He was near that level with the Saints but figures to get a slight boost. Gardner-Johnson also might carry a CB designation in leagues that split DBs by position, which makes him worth particular attention there.
Commanders RB Brian Robinson was released from the hospital on Monday -- just 1 day after being shot in the glute and lower leg. The rookie is set to meet with team doctors on Tuesday, according to ESPN's John Keim. We'll see if we get a timeline for Robinson's return, but the news on his status has been more positive than we expected. Washington reportedly expects Robinson to play this season. He's still worth considering late in fantasy drafts.
The Colts released RB Phillip Lindsay. It's a slightly surprising move and leaves RB Ty'Son Williams as the #3 RB behind Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines. We'll see if the Colts make another move at the position.
RB Kenyan Drake is signing with the Ravens, according to insider Jordan Schultz. Drake was dumped by HC Josh McDaniels and the new Raiders regime a little over a week ago. He turns 29 in January and, while he remained effective as a pass catcher last year, he averaged just 4.0 yards per carry and ranked 42nd among 77 qualifying RBs in Pro Football Focus' rushing grades. Drake is an insurance policy for a Ravens team still waiting for RBs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards to get over their 2021 knee injuries. We'll see whether Dobbins is ready for Week 1. If not, the Ravens figure to roll with Drake and Mike Davis.
The Buccaneers are releasing WR Tyler Johnson, according to multiple reports. The 3rd-year wideout looks good enough to land on a roster somewhere but lost out to a loaded WR corps in Tampa. A release instead of a trade, though, could indicate limited interest around the league.
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