Plenty has been made of Patriots RB performances this preseason, especially after 3 of them combined to rush for 4 TDs Thursday night against the Eagles. Rhamondre Stevenson contributed 2 of those, marking his 2nd straight 2-TD outing. But it's been Damien Harris dominating the work with QB Cam Newton. Among 29 snaps that Newton has played through 2 games, Harris has been on the field for 16. James White has played 9 of them, with Sony Michel in for 4. So all of Stevenson's work has come with reserves. According to Establish The Run's Adam Levitan, White has been on the field for the only 3 third-down snaps with Newton. Stevenson will bear watching, but Harris' role doesn't appear to be under seige. And keep White in mind as a late PPR option in fantasy football drafts.
On Friday, WR Larry Fitzgerald spoke about his NFL future on SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio. “I just don’t have the urge to play right now,” Fitz said. “I don’t know how I’ll feel in September, October, November moving forward, but as of today I just don’t have the urge.” Currently a free agent, the 38-year-old was always believed to be leaning toward retirement. If that holds up, he'll retire with 1,432 career catches — 2nd most all-time.
The Jaguars started rookie QB Trevor Lawrence in the preseason opener and plan to do so again Monday against the Saints, but OC Darrell Bevell says that doesn't mean they've decided on their regular-season starter. “We’re still going to handle it that way until we end up making the final decision,” Bevell said, via the Florida Times-Union. “Right now, they are still status quo. We’re trying to make everybody better. We want competition at each and every position. Both guys are getting better because of it.” It's still hard to imagine Jacksonville actually going with Minshew in the regular-season opener. But we have to consider it a possibility. We'll all be watching this situation over the next few weeks.
Per Packers beat writer Zach Kruse, TE Jace Sternberger “isn’t a lock” to make the team. Kruse writes that the team “clearly wants more consistency” from the 25-year-old. Just last summer, Sternberger looked like a fantasy sleeper at TE. But injuries and the rise of Robert Tonyan now has Sternberger’s roster spot in jeopardy. Oh, and he’s also suspended for the first 2 games of the regular season after violating the league’s substance abuse policy. We'll be curious to see how Sternberger fares if given a fresh start elsewhere, but for now, he's off the fantasy radar.
Katherine Terrell of The Athletic writes that it “feels like” Saints RB Latavius Murray will avoid getting cut. Terrell adds, however, that Murray’s status on the team “doesn’t seem as clear cut as it might have weeks ago.” Murray, 31, fumbled in the preseason opener and carries a cap hit of nearly $4.2 million. Still, with depth options like Devonta Freeman and Tony Jones, we’d be surprised if the Saints dumped Murray. It's at least a storyline to watch over the coming weeks.
Patriots QB Cam Newton got the start for the 2nd straight preseason game on Thursday night vs. the Eagles. He was sharp, finishing 8 of 9 for 103 yards and a TD to WR Jakobi Meyers in 3 series. QB Mac Jones played the next 4 possessions, completing 13 of 19 passes for 146 yards, 0 TDs and 0 INTs. The rookie earned a strong 93.2 passing grade from Pro Football Focus. Newton finished with a solid 85.5 grade. Newton remains the slight favorite to get the Week 1 starting nod, but there's still time for Jones to change that.
Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson stuffed the stat sheet for the 2nd straight game on Thursday night, carrying 15 times for 66 yards and 2 scores vs. the Eagles. But he once again got 0 snaps with the starters, playing behind RBs Damien Harris, Sony Michel and James White. Stevenson also lost a fumble. The rookie still has work to do to be a fantasy factor this year. For now, he's just a late-round flier.
Patriots WR N'Keal Harry appeared to suffer a shoulder injury in the 2nd quarter of Thursday night's preseason game vs. the Eagles. He was in a sling afterward, according to The Boston Herald. Harry has reportedly had a nice August and seemed in line to open the season as New England's #4 receiver. We'll see how long this injury keeps him sidelined. He remains off the fantasy radar for now.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts missed Thursday night's game against the Patriots with what's been diagnosed as a stomach infection, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Hurts was reportedly told to rest at home for 2 days. Beyond that, he should be good to go. We'll pass along any further upsdates.
Lions RB D'Andre Swift has been hampered by a sore groin for the past few weeks. But he "took a heavy load of reps Thursday and said afterward he felt good to be back," according to Tim Twentyman of the team's official website. It sounds like the Lions have simply been playing it cautiously with their lead back. We'll continue to keep an eye on Swift. But, barring a setback, he should be a full-go for the start of the season.
The Eagles announced just before Thursday night's game against the Patriots that they would hold QB Jalen Hurts out because of illness. That gave Joe Flacco the start (and it didn't go well). This doesn't look like a situation that will affect Hurts' availability any further.
Jets DE Carl Lawson confirmed Thursday afternoon that he tore his left Achilles' tendon. That obviously means he'll miss this season, his 1st with the Jets after arriving in free agency. We'll see about Lawson next offseason, heading into his age-27 campaign. Expect Vinny Curry and John Franklin-Myers to run as the top 2 edge players for the Jets now.
Jets DE Carl Lawson left the practice field on a cart Thursday after suffering a left leg injury, according to Connor Hughes of The Athletic. Hughes reports that "the entire field was silent when Lawson went down." That doesn't sound good for the 26-year-old big-money free-agent addition. We'll watch for a diagnosis. For now, don't draft Lawson in your IDP league.
Update: NFL Network is reporting that Lawson is getting an MRI on his left Achilles' tendon and that he felt a "pop" when he went down. We're removing him from the rankings for now, as we await a firm diagnosis.
Bucs RB Gio Bernard will be a "major part of the offense," HC Bruce Arians said Thursday. Arians went on to say that Bernard has been “more than pretty good” since joining the team. Arians is no stranger to hyperbole, so take this with at least a small grain of salt. But Bernard did match RBs Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones with 2 snaps with the 1st-team offense in the preseason opener. Both of Bernard's snaps came on 3rd down. We're expecting him to play a big role on passing downs -- although we'd still be surprised if he took too many carries from Fournette and Jones.
Ravens TE Mark Andrews needed to be helped off the practice field Thursday morning, but it doesn't sound like it'll be a lingering issue. HC John Harbaugh said afterward that Andrews was dealing with "some pretty serious cramping," thanks to a spike in humidity. Andrews got fluids via IV but should rebound quickly.
Packers HC Matt LaFleur said Thursday that QB Jordan Love is "unlikely" to play in Saturday's preseason game against the Jets, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. That it's not a definite no from the coach at this point indicates Love's shoulder issue is minor, just as the team has said. Kurt Benkert would start in place of Love, with Aaron Rodgers staying out of harm's way.
Bears HC Matt Nagy expects QB Justin Fields (groin) to play in Saturday's preseason game vs. the Bills. So that groin injury obviously isn't serious. Nagy also said that QB Andy Dalton will start and play at least a quarter and a half. The veteran continues to look like the favorite to start Week 1. We'll see if the rookie can make up ground this weekend.
Juwan Johnson "seems headed for a Jared Cook-type of role" for the Saints, The Athletic's Katherine Terrell writes. Johnson went undrafted last year after playing WR in college (3 seasons at Penn State, 1 at Oregon). He went catch-less last year and has now made the switch to TE at 6'4, 230 pounds. Johnson played 4 of 20 snaps with the 1st-team offense in the preseason opener and didn't see a target. We're not ready to consider him a fantasy option yet. But any type of role Johnson plays in the passing game would be bad news for TE Adam Trautman.
Colts HC Frank Reich declined to give a timetable for QB Carson Wentz's return from foot surgery when asked on Wednesday. Wentz is now 16 days removed from that surgery. "He's getting very antsy. Very antsy," Reich said. "He's wanting to push the envelope, as I would expect. But he's gotta be patient and just stay focused on the mental side of it right now and we gotta let things take their course. But at the same time, there's a time to push things and we'll keep doing that as it's appropriate." Reich added that they'll have a better idea of Wentz's status when "we push it" but that they don't want to do that "too soon, too fast."
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (shoulder) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice, doing some light throwing. HC Mike McCarthy conceded that Prescott "probably" won't play in the preseason, but he remains on track for Week 1.
Search
