The Eagles held RB Miles Sanders out of practice Sunday because of "leg soreness," according to Martin Frank of The Delaware News Journal. That certainly doesn't sound like a serious issue. But it also doesn't seem great if Sanders actually needed the break in the 1st practice after Philly's Friday night preseason opener. Sanders, of course, also sits tied with Dalvin Cook for the highest probability of injury among RBs heading into the season -- with more projected missed games despite a smaller projected workload. Sanders is still going late enough in drafts, at least, to mitigate the health risk. We'll watch his status for upcoming workouts.
Giants HC Brian Daboll said Sunday that WR Kadarius Toney (leg) is unlikely to practice this week. The feeling prior to today was that Toney would return sooner, so perhaps he encountered a setback. The 2nd-year WR made only 10 appearances as a rookie and underwent offseason knee surgery. We'll let you know when he returns to the field.
The Athletic's Daniel Popper believes RB Joshua Kelley has "taken the lead" in the battle for the #2 RB job after the preseason opener. Kelley started that game, finishing with 3 carries for 16 yards and 3 catches for 28 yards. "Kelley looks like a really confident player," Popper writes. "He was decisive and explosive in the run game, hitting holes with a north-south mentality." RB Larry Rountree rotated in with the starters, while RB Isaiah Spiller didn't hit the field until the 2nd quarter. We're still expecting Spiller to eventually emerge as the #2 RB, but that might not happen before the start of the season.
Falcons HC Arthur Smith said Sunday that WR Drake London's knee injury is "not a long-term thing." Smith added that London will likely be sidelined this coming week but is fully expected to be ready for the regular season. We'll see exactly when the rookie is able to get back on the field.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow practiced Sunday for the first time since his late-July appendectomy. Per The Athletic’s Paul Dehner, the Bengals will gradually increase Burrow’s practice load over the next few days. Based on some highlights from today, though, Burrow certainly looks close to 100%. We’re not concerned about his effectiveness for Week 1.
Packers WR Christian Watson (knee) was removed from the PUP list on Sunday. HC Matt LaFleur said the rookie will start out doing individual work and walkthroughs. LaFleur wouldn’t commit to Watson, 23, playing some preseason snaps. There’s time for Green Bay’s depth chart to get shaken up, but we wouldn’t count on a big early-season role for Watson right now.
Packers TE Robert Tonyan was activated from the PUP list on Sunday. Coming back from an ACL tear, Tonyan will be limited in the short term to individual work and walkthroughs, per HC Matt LaFleur. We’d temper early-season expectations for the veteran TE.
Eagles RB Kenneth Gainwell was back at practice on Sunday. He missed less than a week with a minor hip injury. Some Eagles insiders believe Gainwell is in line for pass-catching and goal-line duties for Philly this year. That'd make him a valuable fantasy asset.
Eagles WR DeVonta Smith returned to practice on Sunday. He ended up missing about 10 days with a minor groin injury. Barring a setback, consider Smith's fantasy stock unaffected.
The Bills gave another indication Saturday that WR Isaiah McKenzie leads the competition for the starting slot job. McKenzie didn't play in the preseason opener against the Colts. Jamison Crowder, on the other hand, opened the game running with the 2nd team. We've been treating McKenzie as the leader here pretty much since training camp opened.
Bucs RB Gio Bernard was knocked out of Saturday's preseason opener with an ankle injury. With RB Leonard Fournette sitting, Bernard drew the start over RBs Rachaad White and Ke'Shawn Vaughn. We'll see about the severity of the ankle injury.
Giants HC Brian Daboll commented on WR Kadarius Toney’s knee injury. The 2nd-year WR has missed a few training camp practices and Week 1 of the preseason. "He worked really hard coming from the offseason to get to where he is right now," Daboll said. "Things happen in practice, things happen in a game. If he was ready to go, he would be out there. We thought it would be in our best interest and in his best interest not to play this game relative to what he was going through, his injury and hopefully these next few days will calm it down and we'll be ready to go again." Toney remains a volatile fantasy asset with a wide range of outcomes.
The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia writes that WR Khalil Shakir has enjoyed an “excellent” training camp. Buscaglia notes the rookie’s ability to play inside and outside while also pointing out some potential return value. Shakir, a 5th-round pick, will certainly start out buried on Buffalo’s depth chart, but he’s a name to file away in deep formats. Current projections have Josh Allen pegged for the 4th-most pass attempts league-wide.
Chiefs starters played 1 possession in Saturday's preseason opener against the Bears. JuJu Smith-Schuster led the WRs with 11 snaps, followed by Marquez Valdes-Scantling (9), Mecole Hardman (4) and Justin Watson (1), according to Pro Football Focus. Skyy Moore did not get onto the field with that unit. We'll see how that usage pattern develops through the preseason.
The Chiefs started RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the preseason opener against the Bears. We all expected that. But rookie RB Isiah Pacheco was notably the next guy in. Pacheco got snaps in the red zone on K.C.'s opening offensive possession, including a reception. It's just 1 drive of 1 game (which is still going as of this writing), but it's another signal that we should take Pacheco's rise seriously.
Update: Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke had the 1st-drive snap counts at CEH 7, Pacheco 3, Jerick McKinnon 1. Ronald Jones didn't see the field until 2 possessions after Patrick Mahomes and other starters had left.
Colts HC Frank Reich wants a more balanced offense this season after ranking 28th in pass rate last year. "You don’t see teams that have this ground-and-pound run game win championships,” Reich said. “You just don’t. I’m sure it’s happened with one or two teams, but our best formula is to be balanced." Reich also conceded that it will mean fewer touches for RB Jonathan Taylor. "I’m not saying he won’t lead the league in touches, because you never know how things are going to play out. But I almost don’t want him to," he said of Taylor. “The goal is not to lead the league in rushing. The goal is not to make him the MVP of the league. The goal is to win championships." Taylor easily led the league with 332 carries last year -- 25 more than anyone else. So he can afford to lose some and still be a fantasy stud. More passing, of course, would be good news for QB Matt Ryan, WR Michael Pittman and the rest of the Colts' pass catchers.
CBS' Josina Anderson reports that Jets QB Zach Wilson tore the meniscus in his right knee, in addition to the bone bruise. He'll reportedly get a "trim" and is expected to miss 2-4 weeks. The longer end of that would obviously extend into the regular season. We'll see exactly when the Jets expect Wilson to return, but this is all much better than the initially feared ACL tear. If Wilson does miss regular-season games, Joe Flacco should be in line to start.
Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports that Jets QB Zach Wilson did not suffer ligament damage in the knee he injured Friday night. Wilson is reportedly dealing with a bone bruise, with further evaluation looking into whether he suffered meniscus damage. We'll certainly be watching for updates, but it seems like the injury isn't nearly as bad as initially feared.
The Panthers have announced that QB Baker Mayfield will start Saturday's preseason opener. This doesn't necessarily mean he's THE starter, but it sure seems like a signal that Mayfield holds at least a slight lead over incumbent Sam Darnold. And it comes less than a week after Ian Rapoport reported that Mayfield has the "inside track" to the gig. Mayfield is certainly our bet in this competition, and he's still going late enough to be a value in best-ball and superflex drafts.
A source tells ESPN's Adam Schefter that the knee injury Falcons WR Drake London suffered in Friday's preseason opener is not serious. "Still, further testing ahead," Schefter adds. We'll pass along any further updates on Drake's status. But, for now, we haven't moved him in the WR rankings.
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