Ravens RB Gus Edwards has COVID and will miss the 1st 10 days of camp, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Edwards’ absence is good news for Justice Hill and any other Baltimore RB hoping to raise his profile. It can’t hurt J.K. Dobbins’ standing either. We’re not adjusting our fantasy outlook for Edwards or Dobbins at this point, though
Giants HC Joe Judge said Tuesday WR Kadarius Toney has returned to the team and will participate in meetings. “Judge made it clear they'll take it slow as far as integrating Toney into practices,” according to Dan Dugan of The Athletic. Toney, of course, recently landed on the COVID list. We don’t expect this to impact his season outlook.
Browns WR Odell Beckham Jr. has passed his physical and will not have any restrictions to open training camp, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. We wouldn’t be surprised to see Cleveland manage his practice time and preseason exposure, but Beckham has been generating positive off-season buzz on the field. We’ll keep tracking reports on the star WR.
Jets QB Zach Wilson was absent for the 1st day of training camp on Tuesday as his agent and the team continue to work on his rookie contract. We'd be surprised if the standoff lasted much longer considering there's not much negotiation to be done with rookie deals nowadays, but we'll continue to monitor the situation. Wilson is coming off a strong start in OTAs and minicamp.
NFL insider Albert Breer believes Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth is "trending towards a real role" after attending training camp. "Freiermuth was a monster Saturday," Breer tweeted. "Catches everything." Rookie TEs are generally poor bets in fantasy football. And Freiermuth faces stiff target competition in TE Eric Ebron and WRs Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and JuJu Smith-Schuster. But, if nothing else, his presence is a reason to only view Ebron as a lower-end TE2. We'll see if Freiermuth can work his way on to the fantasy radar.
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers reported for the start of training camp on Tuesday. It's still unclear if he and the team have officially agreed to whatever deal they're reportedly working on. But it sure looks like he's committed to play in Green Bay for at least 1 more season. We've bumped Rodgers, WR Davante Adams and RB Aaron Jones up the rankings.
Washington has agreed to a 3-year extension with TE Logan Thomas, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. We haven't seen the terms yet, but this development obviously points to the team wanting Thomas as a key piece beyond this season. That enhances the dynasty outlook for a player who just turned 30 coming off his 1st year with more than 16 receptions. It also gives at least a slight boost to Thomas' 2021 outlook, solidifying his standing with the team.
The Saints signed WR Chris Hogan. He has 216 NFL catches under his belt -- but just 22 have come over the past 2 seasons. Hogan turns 33 in October. He's not the answer to New Orleans' Michael Thomas-sized hole at WR.
Giants HC Joe Judge refused to commit to RB Saquon Barkley (knee) being ready for Week 1 when asked on Monday. “Look, ideally we’d love to have him back as soon as possible,” Judge said. "But ultimately we’ve got to make sure when he comes back he can play 100 percent; he can play aggressive and confident; and that we have him back. So that’s the approach we’re taking. We’re really just watching day by day and evaluating where he’s at and affording him the ability to come back when he’s fully ready to go, because the plan is when we get him back to keep him back. We don’t want to rush him back and do something that’s not best for him individually or best for the team, and we’re really taking a big picture and a long-term view of this.” The "long-term view" has been the theme for Barkley's return from last September's torn ACL all offseason. It's clear the Giants will have no issue holding him out of games -- or perhaps limiting his touches -- if he's not ready to go. We'll continue to keep a close eye on his progress.
The Rams placed rookie WR Tutu Atwell on the reserve/COVID-19 list. If he’s unvaccinated, Atwell must quarantine for 10 days. If he is vaccinated, he can rejoin his teammates after testing negative twice 24 hours apart. Atwell was already a long-shot for year 1 value, and this only further keeps him off the redraft radar.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott has earned rave reviews for his work through the first 3 days of training camp. "Prescott has shown no signs of ever having suffered a severe ankle injury," The Athletic's Jon Machota writes "His mobility looks as good as ever and he’s been accurate in individual and team drills." At this point, we can put any concerns about that ankle to bed. Prescott -- with a loaded group of pass catchers -- has upside to lead all QBs in fantasy points this season.
Jets WR Corey Davis (shoulder) is ready for the start of training camp on Wednesday, according to The Athletic's Connor Hughes. Davis hurt his shoulder at a May OTA session and didn't do much in minicamp. But it looks like a non-issue now. Davis is coming off a strong 2020 season and got paid like a #1 WR by the Jets in free agency. He's a value at his WR54 ADP.
Following up on NFL Network's Ian Rapoport's story this morning, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the Packers and QB Aaron Rodgers are "close" to working on a deal that would bring Rodgers back to Green Bay for the 2021 season. Per Schefter, the agreement would void the 2023 year in Rodgers' contract and ensure that the team reviews Rodgers' situation after this year. It essentially sounds like this would be his final season with the Packers. We'll continue to track this situation, but Rodgers and Green Bay's skill-position players look much safer to draft now than they did 12 hours ago.
Rams HC Sean McVay said Monday that RB Darrell Henderson won’t play in any preseason games. Per a tweet from beat writer Cameron DaSilva, McVay said it’s never been an ability question for Henderson; it’s about availability and staying healthy. Indeed. Through 2 pro seasons, Henderson’s sustained a pair of ankle sprains and a hamstring strain. So the team is wise to save its new lead back for the games that count. Barring a legit backfield addition, Henderson projects as a top-20 RB across formats.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that "Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has indicated to people close to him that he does plan to play for GB this season." We're still waiting for Rodgers to officially report to the team, but this is at least a positive sign. There will be risk to drafting Rodgers until he actually shows up, but his depressed ADP has also presented upside. He's QB11 in current FFPC best-ball drafting, coming off a QB3 fantasy finish.
Zak Keefer of The Athletic reports that the Colts say RB Marlon Mack is back to 100% health for the start of camp. That's noteworthy, given Mack missed last year with a torn Achilles' tendon. Of course, being 100% healthy does not necessarily equal being back to your original performance level. But this is a big step for the veteran back. Mack still can't hope to be more than the #3 RB on this year's Indy roster, but his return could leave Jordan Wilkins without a spot. A near full-strength Mack could also stress the workload for Jonathan Taylor.
Colts GM Chris Ballard says LB Darius Leonard has had an ankle "procedure" in early June, according to Mike Chappell of FOX59. Ballard said the team will monitor him but that there's "no reason for concern," despite conceding that the LB will miss some early practices. Leonard missed 2 games last season, but a groin injury was the culprit. We'll keep an eye out for anything further on this situation. For now, though, we'll take Ballard at his word and not adjust our outlook for Leonard.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones doesn't expect WR Amari Cooper (ankle) to practice until training camp breaks in mid-August. Cooper remains on the active PUP list after January ankle surgery. The team continues to express little concern about his status, but it sure seems like his recovery has taken longer than expected. Cooper comes with elevated risk until we see him back on the field.
Andy Vasquez of NorthJersey.com projects RB Ty Johnson as a cut in his admittedly "far too early" 53-player roster projection. "[Tevin] Coleman will likely get the majority of the snaps, but there will be plenty of opportunities for [Michael] Carter and another young back," Vasquez writes. "[Josh] Adams, [La'Mical] Perine and Johnson will battle for the final two spots at this position." We're not particularly excited about any player in what figures to line up as a committee but will be tracking the competition through summer.
The Browns have placed rookie LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah on the COVID list. That, of course, could mean a positive test or a high-risk exposure. We'll see how long the designation keeps the 2nd-rounder out and whether we should expect any lingering impact.
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