The Cowboys remain “in the mix” to re-sign RB Ezekiel Elliott, per The Athletic’s Jeff Howe. New England, meanwhile, remains “highly interested” in the 28-year-old. Elliott, Leonard Fournette, and Kareem Hunt all remain free agents as of Monday afternoon.
Per Browns reporter Tony Grossi, RB Jerome Ford suffered a right hamstring injury in Monday’s practice. He hobbled off the field to get checked out by team trainers. We’ll let you know when we hear about the severity.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield will start this week's preseason opener, and QB Kyle Trask will start the second exhibition, according to Pewter Report. Mayfield and Trask have reportedly been splitting first-team reps in training camp. This is further confirmation that this remains an ongoing battle.
Cowboys TE Luke Schoonmaker made his practice debut on Monday. The rookie missed all of spring workouts and the first week+ of training camp with plantar fasciitis. He has a lot of catching up to do if he wants to earn a Week 1 role. We'll track his progress over the next month. For now, Jake Ferguson is the favorite to open the season as Dallas' lead TE.
In case you were wondering about how Eagles QB Jalen Hurts has fared in training camp so far, here's an update from The Athletic's Bo Wulf: "Hurts seems to have picked up where he left off, which just so happened to be playing the best game of his life on the biggest stage. ... There’s no doubt he’s been more consistent than ever over the first week-plus of camp." Hurts finished eighth among QBs in fantasy points in his first full season as starter in 2021 and then climbed to third last year. He's a safe bet for top-five production in 2023, with the upside to lead all QBs in fantasy points.
Texans QB C.J. Stroud has taken “the bulk” of first-team reps for three straight days, per beat writer DJ Bien-Aime. While a near lock to start Week 1, the rookie barely cracks the top 30 of our fantasy QB rankings.
Update: Stroud will start Week 1 of the preseason on Thursday.
Colts QB Anthony Richardson had two of his best practices of camp over the weekend, according to The Indianapolis Star's Joel Erickson. “You get repetitions, you do things more and more, and you’re going to get more comfortable,” HC Shane Steichen said. “I think he’s gaining confidence in the system, gaining confidence with his teammates. When you have that, and you have the talent that he has, it’s usually a good thing.” Although not exclusively with the starters, Richardson has been getting lots of first-team work and seemingly has a good chance to win the Week 1 starting job.
Packers TE Luke Musgrave was on the field for all 19 of QB Jordan Love's snaps that were broadcast in Saturday night's scrimmage, according to Acme Packing Co.'s Justis Mosqueda. It's further confirmation that Musgrave is set to open the season as Green Bay's starter. The rookie has struggled some with drops and blocking in camp but has consistently flashed his speed and pass-catching skills. Musgrave is a worthy late-round flier in fantasy drafts.
Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football says Saints RB Alvin Kamara is more explosive in camp than he was last year. That seems a little crazy for a 28-year-old RB heading into his seventh NFL season, but it's not a coincidence. Underhill reports that Kamara "fixed a muscle asymmetry in his legs" with a new trainer this offseason and "learned how to control his heart rate to combat fatigue." We'll be very interested to see the results in action. But if the team and player see more explosiveness, then it should keep Kamara's opportunities up. And other improvements to the offense can only help his efficiency. Now that we know he's suspended for just 3 games, Kamara makes for a high-upside RB3 or RB4 in fantasy football drafts. See where he sits in our RB rankings after adjustments for the suspension.
The Panthers have agreed to a one-year deal with Edge Justin Houston. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Houston will get $6 million guaranteed, with a top value of $7 million. Houston rebounded for 9.5 sacks at age 33 with the Ravens last season, tying his second-largest sack total of the past eight years despite a career-low 44.1% snap share. That bodes well for the pressure rate Carolina can expect to get from the veteran. But you should expect Houston to remain in a similar situational role. That obviously limits his statistical upside. Beyond the sacks, Houston tallied a career-low 21 total tackles. That matched the total from his 2016 campaign in Kansas City, which saw Houston play in just five games. Houston tallied 6 more solo tackles (20) that year than he did in 2022. We've added Houston to the IDP rankings, but he's not an exciting option.
Patriots insider Alex Barth believes, based on Sunday's practice, that Tyquan Thornton might be in a battle for the fourth WR spot with rookie Demario Douglas. Barth notes that WRs JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, and Douglas worked with QB Mac Jones in positional drills early in the practice. And when the Patriots moved to team drills, Thornton and Douglas split reps evenly with the first-team offense. "This could be a sign of a true position battle, with the two proving to see who is the better option as the fourth wide receiver and main speed threat in the group," Barth writes. We'll keep an eye on the situation, but neither Thornton nor Douglas are recommended fantasy picks right now.
Browns HC Kevin Stefanski said Sunday that the team's third-down RB job is up for grabs. "Could be Nick [Chubb], could be Jerome [Ford]," Stefanski said. Chubb played just 21% of Cleveland's third-down snaps last year, ceding most of that work to RB Kareem Hunt, who's no longer on the team. Any extra third-down work Chubb picks up this season would be a bonus -- and give him an opportunity to grow his receiving production considerably. Ford, meanwhile, seems locked in as the Chubb handcuff. If he captures the majority of the third-down work, he'd have a chance at some standalone value in PPR leagues.
Rams HC Sean McVay labeled WR Cooper Kupp "day-to-day" with his hamstring injury and said, “I don’t think it’s anything to be overly concerned with.” McVay added that he's hoping to have Kupp back for joint practices with Raiders in a week and a half. It's the latest indication that Kupp's injury should be in the rearview by the time Week 1 rolls around. He continues to sit fourth overall in our fantasy football rankings.
Dolphins RB Devon Achane is "day to day" with an undisclosed injury, HC Mike McDaniel said Sunday. McDaniel added that the team "doesn't have any concerns." This doesn't sound like something that'll impact Achane's 2023 fantasy value, but we'll let you know when the rookie gets back on the field.
Seahawks RB Kenny McIntosh is expected to miss a couple of weeks with a left knee sprain. HC Pete Carroll said the team got “very good news” on the knee. A Round 7 rookie, McIntosh doesn't hold much dynasty value in a strong Seattle backfield.
Commanders TE Logan Thomas has missed two straight practices with a calf injury. The veteran missed three games with a calf strain in October. We’ll let you know when he’s back at practice.
Jaguars beat writer John Shipley believes TE Evan Engram has performed better in training camp this year than he did in 2022. Engram, of course, broke out with 73-766-4 in his Jags debut. Calvin Ridley’s arrival takes some shine off Engram’s fantasy appeal. Still, the 29-year-old profiles as a top-12 option.
Jaguars CB Tyson Campbell sustained a concussion in Saturday's practice, SI.com's John Shipley reports. Campbell did, at least, return to the sideline with a trainer for the end of practice. He has plenty of time to recover before the regular season and isn't moving down our IDP rankings.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler confirms that the Rams view Kyren Williams as their No. 2 RB. Fowler adds that the Rams "like Williams a little bit more as a pass protector than they do [Cam] Akers." That suggests that Williams will steal passing-down work from Akers, which we've been projecting all along. Williams is unlikely to have fantasy value behind a healthy Akers, but an Akers injury would turn him into a volume-based fantasy play.
Darin Gantt of Panthers.com says it's "increasingly clear during camp that the passing game is going to be diverse." He says WR D.J. Chark has "made daily highlights" but adds that Adam Thielen caught a deep TD Saturday and that "several other wideouts were making plays." The fantasy takeaway here is that you shouldn't expect any Panthers WR to dominate target share. "Diverse" here means that QB Bryce Young is spreading the ball around, which makes sense given the WR corps. Fortunately, the ADP for everyone in the corps is low enough that we don't need a target dominator. Thielen remains the leader of the group in our WR rankings. We're not ignoring the recent Chark buzz, though.
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