Kyle Meinke of MLive.com reports that Lions RB D'Andre Swift has "missed significant practice time while nursing a sore groin." According to Meinke, Swift has been on the field "almost every day" but generally sits out 7-on-7 and full-team work. Detroit clearly isn't too worried about the situation, or the team would have Swift sitting out altogether. But it'll certainly be an issue to monitor going forward. The Lions also watched rookie RB Jermar Jefferson leave Monday's practice with a leg injury. Meinke reports that Jefferson has been "having a nice camp." We'll see how long he's out and what role the rookie fills in preseason games.
Buccaneers TE O.J. Howard returned to the practice field at the end of July, but that doesn't mean he's all the way back physically, coming off the Achilles' tendon tear that ended his 2020 season. “He’s not there yet," HC Bruce Arians said in his Monday press conference. "He had a chance to make a couple grimy chances in the end zone today [and] didn’t come up with them. I expect him to make those. He’s still catching up to the speed of it and the physicality of it. He’s been out a long time, so he needs this camp.” Howard remains a later-round flier in all formats, so it's easy to take on the risk that he doesn't rebound all the way. The upside, of course, is that he does get back close to 100% of his previous level and takes the receiving lead among Tampa Bay TEs. We'll see how he progresses through the rest of camp and preseason.
Reports out of Eagles training camp have been up and down on 2nd-year QB Jalen Hurts. But ESPN's Tim McManus says the new starter has looked particularly good in 1 key area. "Hurts has been money on throwing the deep balls," McManus writes. "He has shown a knack for hitting his receivers in stride with touch, even from 40-plus yards out." According to McManus, Hurts also tied Tom Brady, Derek Carr and Deshaun Watson for most completions of 30+ yards from Week 13 on last season -- Hurts' starting stretch. The young QB has reportedly struggled more in the short and intermediate ranges. We can work with that combo in fantasy. Hurts' strong deep passing plus the speed of his top 2 WRs -- DeVonta Smith and Jalen Reagor -- only adds upside to a QB whose most attractive in fantasy for his rushing ability. Deshaun Watson rumors have knocked Hurts down some ADP boards recently, which could be a buying opportunity on a risk-reward fantasy QB.
Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury confirmed Monday what most of us expected out of his backfield. "We expect both guys to share the load for the most part," the coach told ESPN's Josh Weinfuss, referring, of course, to RBs Chase Edmonds and James Conner. "We'll play to their strengths," Kingsbury added. "James is obviously a bigger back. Chase, when he had [an] opportunity, did some great things, and we want to make sure we're calling plays that both those guys are comfortable with when they're in and kind of tailor to them." Kingsbury added that "they can both do it all," but it's pretty clear that Conner will hold the edge near the goal line and Edmonds in the passing game -- much like with Edmonds and Kenyan Drake last year. Both remain fine values in current drafting: Edmonds as RB27 in FFPC best-ball formats, Conner at RB38.
The Falcons activated EDGE Dante Fowler from the COVID list Monday. He had been out since July 29. Fowler now has some catching up to do in what needs to be a bounce-back season for him. Fowler managed just 3 sacks and 8 QB hits over 14 games after signing a multi-year deal with Atlanta in free agency in 2020.
The Cardinals released their 1st "unofficial" depth chart of the year Monday, ahead of Friday's preseason opener against the Cowboys. Unsurprisingly, the team lists DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green and Christian Kirk as the top 3 receivers. Kirk would have been the only 1 of the 3 in question, with Hopkins an incumbent and Green a veteran arriving on a sizable 1-year free agent deal. Kirk, meanwhile, has missed some practice time with a "minor" (though unspecified) injury, allowing rookie WR Rondale Moore to generate some buzz. We'll see where things go between these 2 the rest of the month. Moore certainly brings the higher ceiling. We'll see if he can push past Kirk before the regular season. Of course, it's also worth noting that these preseason depth charts can sometimes prove meaningless -- especially this early in the process.
Washington on Monday removed WR Curtis Samuel from the COVID list. That's 1 hurdle cleared. But Samuel remains on the PUP for his June groin injury. HC Ron Rivera previously said there's no timetable for Samuel's return from that. We'll keep watch.
Saints K Wil Lutz underwent core-muscle surgery and could miss 8+ weeks, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. We'll keep an eye on Lutz's rehab, but he's undraftable in fantasy now. New Orleans on Monday signed K Brett Maher, who now looks like the favorite to open the season as the starter.
Texans QB Deshaun Watson returned to practice Monday morning. He had opened camp working out with the team but then sat out the next 5 days with what the team reported was a foot injury. This comes a few days after FOX's Jay Glazer reported that Houston isn't returning calls from potential trade partners. That paired with Watson's return to the field just might indicate that no deal is imminent. Of course, there are a lot of unknowns in play here, and the Texans aren't giving anything away. Watson remains a risk/reward pick in the later rounds of all draft formats for now.
The Buccaneers announced Monday that they have activated TE Cameron Brate off the PUP list. The team never announced what the injury was. Regardless, Brate figures to run 3rd at the position until and unless Rob Gronkowski or O.J. Howard goes down.
Multiple reports from the Eagles beat have had RB Boston Scott catching the ball well -- specifically in reps with QB Jalen Hurts. Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia writes that Scott has "looked very smooth as a receiver out of the backfield" and that he has been getting more 1st-team reps than any other Eagles RB besides Miles Sanders. The pass-catching talk is particularly noteworthy because it has accompanied multiple reports of Sanders continuing to drop passes. And rookie Kenneth Gainwell arrives with receiving ability as 1 of his strengths. For now, though, it sounds like Scott is on a path to be Philly's #2 RB. We wouldn't invest too heavily in any Eagles RB right now and aren't ready to plant a flag with Scott over Gainwell. But it'll be a situation to monitor as we see usage in the preseason games.
The Giants have officially activated RB Saquon Barkley off the PUP, according to The Associated Press. This falls in line with earlier reports. We'll see about his participation level and reports on how he looks in the coming weeks. We'll also keep tabs on his ADP. Barkley has often slipped to Round 2 in recent drafting.
Bills WR Emmanuel Sanders returned to practice on Monday. He missed just a few days of practice with a foot injury. With rave reviews coming out of Bills camp, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Sanders supply sporadic WR3 value this fall.
Chiefs RB Darrel Williams has a knee injury, HC Andy Reid said Monday. We don't have any other details on the severity or how long Williams will be sidelined. We'll monitor the situation. A healthy Williams is the favorite for the #2 RB job in Kansas City.
Giants HC Joe Judge said Monday that it'll be a "slow buildup" for RB Saquon Barkley (knee) in his return to practice. He'll be limited to individual drills to start. No surprise there. Judge also reiterated that Barkley's status for the start of the season remains uncertain. We'll closely track his progress over the next month.
The Athletic's Paul Dehner lists WR Ja'Marr Chase as 1 of the fallers of the first couple of weeks of Bengals training camp. "His skill set is that unique. You see flashes of that early, but you also see somebody tentatively getting used to a new offense, new league and not playing football since January 2020," Dehner writes. "He has endured a string of drops, on short and long passes, with another coming Sunday. He has not shown as much separation as you’d hope, and the contested balls haven’t gone his way much, either." It's not a major surprise that Chase is off to a slow start after opting out of the 2020 season -- but it is at least part of the reason that we have him as overvalued at his 4th- or 5th-round price tag.
A source tells Saints beat writer Mike Triplett that K Wil Lutz “could miss a little time at the start of the season.” He’s dealing with a groin injury. Given New Orleans’ questions on offense, Lutz is now an easy fade on draft day.
Update: Ian Rapoport tweeted that Lutz will "be evaluated for a potential core muscle surgery." If Lutz undergoes surgery, he'll be a lock to miss regular season games.
The Falcons signed RB D'Onta Foreman. The 89th pick of the 2017 draft was a promising prospect but hasn't done much since tearing his Achilles in November of his rookie season. He carried 22 times for 95 yards as a backup in Tennessee last year. We'll keep an eye on Foreman in a relatively wide-open depth chart in Atlanta, but he's a long shot for fantasy value.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley (knee) is expected to be activated from the PUP list and return to practice this week, insider Zack Rosenblatt reports. Barkley is now about 10.5 months removed from his multi-ligament knee injury and about 9.5 months removed from surgery. The Giants have taken a cautious approach bringing him back -- an approach that could continue into the season. ESPN's Jordan Raanan reported back in May that Barkley's workload could be limited early on. And NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said just a few days ago that Barkley might miss the first 2 games altogether. We'll see how he fares in practice over the next month.
Patriots TE Hunter Henry suffered a shoulder injury in Sunday's practice, ESPN's Mike Reiss reports. The injury isn't believed to be serious, but more will be known after Henry gets an MRI. "The injury is painful and Henry could miss time in the preseason," Reiss adds. We'll keep you updated on Henry's status.
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