New Buccaneers WR Russell Gage has missed OTAs and minicamp will dealing with an injury that Pewter Report describes as "minor" and "unknown." QB Tom Brady says the team needs him to get on the field as soon as possible. “[He needs] a lot of work,” Brady said Thursday. “He has to have a big year. We signed him to a contract and he has to come in and do a great job. From the time I spent with him, I really enjoyed it. He’s got a great opportunity. That is very important role." Gage faces enviable opportunity, especially with WR Chris Godwin coming off a December ACL tear. We'll monitor the injury situation but don't expect it to affect his training-camp readiness. Gage reportedly has gotten some pre-practice work in with Brady already.
Let's start with HC Pete Carroll's full quote on the Geno Smith-Drew Lock competition after Thursday's practice (per Liz Matthews of Seahawks Wire: “Geno’s still ahead, you can tell that, but it’s not going to be too much for Drew to be caught up. By the time we get through camp he’ll be there. He’s really bright. It makes sense to him. He’s really sharp in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage and all of that. So it’s just time that he needs, and there’s nothing we can do but gain some more of that.” You could easily read that and come away with the headline that Smith is the leader in the race for the starting gig. It sure seems like Carroll is expecting (hoping?) Lock to catch up and potentially overtake him, though. Carroll added that "it's gonna be a real battle." It's not surprising that the incumbent stands ahead at this early stage. We'd still bet Lock between them as the Week 1 starter, though. And we also still wouldn't rule out the possibility of the team adding someone else, such as Baker Mayfield.
Raiders WR Hunter Renfrow has agreed to a 2-year, $32 million extension, including $21 million guaranteed. That locks Renfrow in with the team through 2024. The commitment confirms that we should expect Renfrow to remain central to the passing offense under new HC Josh McDaniels. Of course, there's still the matter of Davante Adams arriving to a group that also continues to feature TE Darren Waller. So the specific target distribution remains to be seen. But there's room for Renfrow to produce at a WR3 level in PPR formats.
Lions HC Dan Campbell doesn't expect 1st-round WR Jameson Williams to be on the field for the start of camp. "I don't see him being ready for training camp," Campbell told reporters this week. "We'll see then. I'm very hopeful, but I don't see it. We're going to do this thing the right way, and when he's ready, he'll be ready. I don't feel like you're going to see him out there Day 1." That makes sense and falls in line with recent word that Williams is no lock to begin the regular season on time. "He needs a lot of strength development in that body, his lower extremities, his legs, his knees, his everything," Campbell added. The Lions have reason to be cautious with Williams this season, and cautious definitely seems like the ideal way to approach to the rookie's fantasy outlook.
NFL Network's Peter Schrager is hearing from 49ers players that QB Trey Lance has been "awesome this offseason." Reports on Lance's progress were lukewarm at best early this offseason, but it sounds like he's building momentum. "Everything I'm hearing out of the Bay Area is that there has been major strides heading into year number two. Jimmy [Garoppolo]'s not there, and he's kind of been off the radar. Trey Lance is [there]. I'm getting more and more of a feeling this is Trey Lance's team, and he's ready to go." With elite rushing ability and a strong group of pass-catchers in Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle, Lance carries a lofty fantasy ceiling in 2022.
Rams QB Matt Stafford likes what he's seen from WR Allen Robinson so far this offseason. "I've been very, very impressed with his ability to grasp our offense, his role in our offense," Stafford said. "His understanding even when he might miss something or mess something up, the reason is so sound on why he did something." Robinson is coming off an ugly 2021 but is in a prime bounce-back spot with a clear path to #2 WR duties in a strong Rams offense.
Rams QB Matt Stafford said Wednesday that he'll "definitely" be throwing by training camp, per ESPN's Sarah Barshop. Stafford hasn't thrown during the offseason program so far after receiving an injection in his right elbow after the Super Bowl. "I'm progressing kind of into that and through [being able to throw] at the moment," Stafford said. "So I'm just trying to make sure we're smart, but at the same [time] be as ready to go as I can possibly be come Day 1 when we're out there throwing the ball around." Stafford's health will certainly be worth monitoring as we get into August.
The Rams and WR Cooper Kupp have agreed to a 3-year, $78.5 million contract extension with $75 million of that guaranteed. Tacked on to his previous deal, he's now signed for the next 5 seasons at $110 million, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. It makes Kupp the league's 4th-highest-paid WR in terms of average annual salary, behind Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams and DeAndre Hopkins. Kupp, of course, is coming off a massive 2021 season that saw him score 93 more PPR points than any other WR. He'll remain the focal point of the Rams' passing game in 2022 -- and likely beyond. This extension solidifies Kupp's spot in the Dynasty WR Rankings.
Steelers RB Najee Harris expects to play less this season than he did as a rookie. “I will be on the field a lot — but on certain downs, I will not be on the field," Harris said. "Just (pick my spots), I guess. Extra rest. ... We’re still going to talk about that, though. I do want to play. A lot. … Any time I can. But at the same time, it’s all about being smart. So I understand where (Steelers offensive coaches) are coming from.” Harris led all RBs with 980 snaps and 381 total touches last year. So there's certainly room for Pittsburgh to scale back his workload. But with only Benny Snell and Anthony McFarland behind him on the depth chart, we wouldn't expect a big reduction in Harris' volume. He remains a good bet to finish among the top 5 in total touches, barring injury.
Lions TE T.J. Hockenson expects to be used more creatively this season in new OC Ben Johnson's scheme. Johnson was Hockenson's position coach the past 2 years. "Ben has seen me do routes that most guys or coordinators wouldn't think that a tight end could do," Hockenson said. "Splitting me out, running a comeback, splitting me out and running things that really only wide receivers do. He's seen me run it and he's seen me run it well. Just being able to have that in his head – we're already seeing it now (with me) being split out and doing some things and showing what we got." QB Jared Goff likes what he's seen with Hockenson's usage so far this offseason. "T.J. is a unique player and somebody that we need to take advantage of his full skill set," Goff said. "No one knows him better than Ben, so having him in that (OC) spot to make those decisions and draw things up is helpful. But he's doing a great job creatively with T.J." Hockenson is a safe pick in mid-range TE1 territory and might still have untapped upside beyond that.
Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson said Tuesday that his focus this offseason was "route running and being a third down back." That doesn't necessarily mean that he'll be New England's primary pass-catching back this season. But it's certainly possibly, especially if he's improved in that department after a promising rookie year. Stevenson caught 14 of 18 targets for 123 yards in 2021, ranking 12th among 89 qualifying RBs in yards per route run. The Patriots re-signed RB James White in March, but the 30-year-old coming off hip surgery is a big question mark.
Colts LB Darius Leonard had back surgery Tuesday morning, his agent confirmed. Zak Keefer of The Athletic reports that Leonard will miss "some camp time" but is expected to be ready for the regular season. ESPN's Mike Wells reports it a little differently, saying the team expects "him to [be] back for training camp." We'll see about Leonard's status as camp gets going. At the least, this adds a complication for a star player who has already been dealing with nagging ankle trouble.
Rams RB Darrell Henderson is currently sidelined with what HC Sean McVay called a "soft-tissue injury." We don't have any details on the ailment or severity. We're not adjusting Henderson's projections for now but will keep an eye on him when training camp opens next month. Henderson has missed 7 games through 3 NFL seasons with ankle, rib, thigh and knee injuries.
Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf did not report for the start of minicamp as he continues to angle for a new contract. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler confirms that Metcalf's absence is unexcused, subjecting him to fines up to $93,000. The Seahawks have made it clear that they'd like to get Metcalf a new deal, but there's obviously still work to be done between the 2 sides. It's a situation to monitor as we get closer to training camp in late July.
Speaking at minicamp, Packers QB Aaron Rodgers said he'll “definitely" finish his career in Green Bay. We’d give him some leeway to change his mind. But after signing an extension in March, the 38-year-old is signed through the 2024 season.
Texans WR John Metchie ran routes at close to full speed in Tuesday's minicamp practice. The rookie seems to be making good progress in his recovery from December's torn ACL. It's still unclear if he'll be ready for Week 1. But, once healthy, Metchie has an opportunity to carve out a significant role in Houston's passing game.
Turns out the "tweak" that has had Rams rookie RB Kyren Williams in a walking boot recently was actually a foot fracture. HC Sean McVay revealed that to reporters Tuesday and said Williams will return "sometime in the early portion of training camp," according to Cameron DaSilva of Rams Wire. ESPN's Adam Schefter adds that Williams had surgery to address the issue. We'll see just how much time he misses and how quickly he can get acclimated after his turn. Williams shouldn't have been factoring heavily into your redraft plans anyway, though.
ESPN's Rob Demovsky reports that Packers WR Allen Lazard is not on hand for this week's mandatory minicamp. Lazard, of course, is not actually required to attend, because he has not signed his restricted free agent tender. That the 2 sides have not yet worked out anything longer term should give you pause about getting too excited over Lazard's outlook. Avoiding early-June minicamp might not ultimately matter for his 2022 role and production. But his absence will give more reps to younger WRs. At WR45 in current Underdog ADP, Lazard remains a fine player to mix into your best-ball drafting. That's almost exactly where he sits in our half-PPR WR rankings. We also prefer Lazard at cost over Christian Watson just about a round later. Consider mixing in some Randall Cobb and Romeo Doubs at the end of your drafts as well, though.
Bucs RB Leonard Fournette "seemed to be a little heavy and struggled some in the heat" on the 1st day of minicamp, The Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud observed. Fournette confirmed that's he's packed on some lbs., telling reporters that weighs “240-something” and wants to play around 230 or 228 pounds. Fournette has 3 months before the start of the regular season, so we're not sounding the alarms right now. But his conditioning will certainly be worth monitoring when we get to August.
Titans WR coach Rob Moore revealed Tuesday that WR Treylon Burks has asthma. That explains why he missed some reps at rookie minicamp with breathing issues. The asthma didn't prevent him from putting up big numbers at Arkansas, though, and shouldn't be a real problem going forward. But we'll keep an eye on him.
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