Rams HC Sean McVay talked Monday about the fill-in WR plans while Van Jefferson is out for knee surgery. One player he brought up was Brandon Powell. "He's one of those guys, a great competitor, good football player," McVay said, per Rams Wire's Cameron DaSilva. "Seen really positive things from him from the slot." Powell's primary usage so far has come as a return man, across 3 franchises over the past 4 years. He got onto the field for just 3 offensive snaps with the Rams last season, so odds appear to be against him finding a significant role there this year. But we'll see how things go for both Jefferson's knee and those behind him on the depth chart.
Eagles OC Shane Steichen told reporters Tuesday morning that he "has been impressed by how well Quez Watkins has tracked the ball so far," according to former Eagles writer Les Bowen. That's particularly good for Watkins, who brings the speed to stand out as a deep threat and has averaged 15.1 yards per catch through 2 seasons. Watkins will have trouble finding enough targets to make his way into starting lineups in most fantasy football leagues. But he's intriguing as an end-of-draft addition to Jalen Hurts rosters in best-ball tournaments.
Packers rookie LB Quay Walker split 1st-team reps with incumbent Krys Barnes in spring, operating next to De'Vondre Campbell. According to Bill Huber of SI.com's Packer Central, "it's been all Walker" there since training camp began. That's not shocking, given Green Bay chose Walker in Round 1 as the 1st off-ball LB. Huber adds that the Packers haven't run a single snap of "dime" defense in camp, an alignment that includes just 1 LB. Green Bay lined up in that formation 24% of the time last season, so we should certainly expect some this year. But the team might also be looking to keep both Campbell and Walker on the field more than it used 2-LB sets in 2021. That would obviously help Walker's IDP upside. Green Bay extended Campbell this offseason at a rate that clearly indicates the plan to keep him in a 3-down role.
Steelers rookie QB Kenny Pickett worked with the 2nd team Monday, ahead of Mason Rudolph. Should we read anything into that? "You should not," HC Mike Tomlin told reporters afterward, according to BehindtheSteelCurtain.com. "But I'm sure you will." Tomlin said he'll keep rotating QBs. Expect the alignments to start mattering more the further we get into August.
Commanders rookie TE Cole Turner has been working in with the 1st team at training camp. Ethan Cadeaux of NBC Sports Washington says that he "has had a nice start to camp." Turner's not worth getting excited about, but there is opportunity potentially available. Logan Thomas has yet to come off the PUP list as he works back from a December ACL tear that included other damage. If Turner can work ahead of 2nd-year TE John Bates on the depth chart, he'd carry some intrigue as a very late 3rd TE (or 4th in FFPC formats) on best-ball rosters. The 5th-round converted WR caught 111 passes over his final 2 college seasons and delivered an above-average speed score for the position in pre-draft testing at 6'6 and 250 pounds. Turner at least looks like a name to know for dynasty purposes. Thomas is heading into his age-31 season.
Jaguars RB Travis Etienne is not practicing Tuesday. It's just an illness, though, according to John Shipley of SI's Jaguar Report. Rookie Snoop Conner was seen getting 1st-team reps in Etienne's absence.
Jaguars HC Doug Pederson announced Tuesday that QB Trevor Lawrence and RB Travis Etienne will not play in Thursday night's Hall of Fame game, the preseason opener. This is not a surprise. Starters rarely make more than a cameo in the "game." We'll see how much preseason action Lawrence and Etienne get beyond that. In the meantime, get fired up for Thursday night's Jake Luton Show. (QB C.J. Beathard also won't play.)
Chargers RB Isaiah Spiller has been the only RB other than Austin Ekeler taking 1st-team reps, according to NFL Network's Taylor Bisciotti. That's a pretty good signal that he's the favorite to emerge as the Chargers' #2 RB. And it doesn't hurt that former #2 Justin Jackson signed with the Lions on Monday. Spiller looks like a solid handcuff-level pick.
Update: Bisciotti later tweeted that RBs Joshua Kelley and Larry Rountree also got 1st-team reps in Monday's practice. "They’re splitting reps and it’s an open competition," Bisciotta tweeted. "RB2 is up for grabs." We still consider Spiller the favorite to win this job.
Browns WR Amari Cooper hurt his right ankle late in Monday's practice. HC Kevin Stefanski had no update afterward. "I haven't gotten the full report," he said, per Cleveland.com. "I'll update you guys tomorrow." Cooper did remain out with the team (not participating) for the end of practice. We'll watch for the update.
Steelers RB Najee Harris left Monday's practice early with a left foot injury, but it doesn't sound serious. "Somebody stepped on his foot, but it shouldn't be a major deal," HC Mike Tomlin said, according to Steelers Depot. We'll keep an eye on the situation, but it doesn't seem like we should worry.
Saints RB Alvin Kamara's court date for the battery charges against him has been rescheduled for September 29, ESPN's Katherine Terrell reports. That's 4 days after New Orleans' Week 3 game in Carolina and 3 days before the Week 4 game vs. the Vikings in London. We'll see what comes of that hearing and whether it spurs the NFL to take action.
Rams HC Sean McVay said Monday that QB Matt Stafford still has "a little bit of pain" in his throwing elbow. Stafford had an injection in that elbow shortly after the Super Bowl and didn't throw at all during the spring. He's thrown some in camp but was held out of team drills on Monday. "We just want to be really smart with somebody that is as important as our quarterback is," McVay said. "[We want to] put together a plan that we feel like is in his best interests and our team's best interests." The Rams continue to downplay this situation. But when a QB is still experiencing pain in his throwing elbow in August, we're on alert.
ESPN's Todd Archer reports that Cowboys WR James Washington broke his right foot in Monday's practice. He'll undergo surgery on Tuesday and is expected to be sidelined for 6-10 weeks, per Archer. It sounds like this is a Jones Fracture, which is a fracture of the bone on the pinky toe side of the foot. That's the injury that cost Titans RB Derrick Henry nearly 3 months last year, so 6-10 weeks might be on the optimistic side. Regardless, Washington isn't worth a spot on redraft rosters -- and we wouldn't even bother with him in best ball. With WR Michael Gallup (ACL) also not expected to be ready for the start of the season, rookie WR Jalen Tolbert has a huge opportunity to capture a significant early-season role.
Rams WR Van Jefferson will have surgery on his left knee, HC Sean McVay announced to reporters Monday. The issue still doesn't sound major, though. Jefferson is only expected to miss "a few weeks," according to NFL Network's Ian Rapport. The young wideout is "TBD for Week 1." We'll see about Jefferson's status as Week 1 approaches. He remains in play as an end-of-draft option for deeper leagues, though there's obviously risk that the situation limits him into the season. Ben Skowronek and Tutu Atwell look like the top 2 candidates for the 3rd WR role if Jefferson misses regular-season games. We also could see more target share go to Cooper Krupp and/or Allen Robinson in that case.
Cardinals QB Kyler Murray tested positive for COVID and will miss at least the next 5 days of training camp, HC Kliff Kingsbury said. Murray is reportedly dealing with "minor" symptoms. It's fortunate timing with Week 1 still over a month away. Assuming no long-term impacts of the virus, consider Murray's fantasy stock unaffected.
Cowboys WR James Washington was carted off the practice field on Monday with an apparent right leg injury. We'll pass along an update when we get one, but it'd probably be wise to hold off on drafting Washington in the meantime. A significant injury would open the door wide open for rookie WR Jalen Tolbert to claim a Week 1 starting job.
Broncos TE Greg Dulcich participated in individual drills on Monday for the first time in training camp. He had presumably been sidelined with the core injury he suffered this spring. Insider Mike Klis predicted on the Draft Sharks podcast that, although TE Albert Okwuegbunam would open the season as Denver's starter, that Dulcich would lead the group in fantasy points by season's end. We'll see if the rookie can start pushing for a role.
Bengals HC Zac Taylor said Monday that RB Samaje Perine has a “leg up” in the competition to be the 3rd-down back. Taylor also called Perine a "security blanket" while acknowledging that 2nd-year RB Chris Evans could still earn the role. The main takeaway here is that the team doesn't want to put too much on Joe Mixon's plate, despite his 3-down skill set. A Mixon injury would almost certainly lead to a timeshare.
Falcons WR Bryan Edwards is sidelined with a shoulder injury suffered on Saturday. “It’s nothing that’s considered long term," HC Arthur Smith said. "We’ll take it day by day." It doesn't sound like Edwards' availability for the start of the season is in jeopardy, but he can't afford to miss much time if he wants to win a Week 1 starting job.
There was a hearing on Monday for Saints RB Alvin Kamara's assault case. The result? "A 60-day status check," according to Las Vegas 8 News Now's David Charns. "No action today." So it'll be the end of September before we get another legal update on Kamara's situation. The NFL can still step in with a suspension at any point but tends to wait for the legal process to play out in cases like these. Translation: It's now more likely that Kamara is eligible for Week 1 and the entire season.
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