Panthers WR Terrace Marshall missed Friday's preseason game against the Patriots with his hamstring issue, and it doesn't seem like HC Matt Rhule was very happy about it. "I was hoping he'd be ready for the game," Rhule said afterward, per Joseph Person of The Athletic. "But the medical staff and he worked on it; couldn't get ready for the game. We need Terrace to start practicing. We need him to step up." The former 2nd-round pick needs to get back on the field soon if he wants to start rebounding from the disappointing rookie campaign. Fellow 2nd-year WR Shi Smith stands to benefit if Marshall continues to struggle.
Buccaneers QB Tom Brady is back with the team and expected to practice today, according to ESPN's Jenna Laine. With more than 2 weeks to go before the regular-season opener, Brady and his receivers should have plenty of time to get ready.
Seahawks QB Drew Lock returned to practice Sunday after a bout with COVID. He has a shot to start the team's final preseason contest. Lock had been in line to start the previous exhibition and seemed to be pulling ahead of Geno Smith in the competition before this setback. We'll see where this goes now that he's back.
Giants rookie EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux suffered a right knee injury in Sunday night's preseason game against the Bengals. He took a nasty-looking shot to the side of it on a low block but was able to walk off. Jay Glazer reports that Thibodeaux will have an MRI on Monday. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero adds that there's "initial optimism he avoided a major injury." We'll see what the MRI says.
Saints WR Michael Thomas is battling “a little bit of a hamstring” injury, per HC Dennis Allen. He missed practice on Sunday. Thomas, of course, missed all of last season with ankle trouble and last suited up on January 17th, 2021. We’ll let you know when he’s back on the field.
Saints QB Jameis Winston (foot) returned to practice on Sunday. He ended up missing 13 days and New Orleans' first 2 preseason games. We'll see if he plays in the 3rd, but Winston should be ready for the regular-season opener.
Bucs HC Todd Bowles said Sunday that QB Tom Brady is expected to re-join the team "early" this week. We'll wait until Brady is actually back before completing closing the book on this story. But it looks like you can draft Brady as you normally would.
Bears RB Khalil Herbert is participating in practice on Sunday. He left practice early on Saturday with an unknown injury, but apparently it wasn’t anything of significance. The 2nd-year RB remains an intriguing bench stash.
Broncos TE Albert Okwuegbunam played into the 4th quarter of Saturday's preseason game against the Bills. HC Nathaniel Hackett said afterwards that Okwuegbunam "needs the reps." Added Hackett, "Our tight ends are playing really well, the five guys we have playing, so we want to get a good look at all of them. There are guys who played a little more football than others ... I’m excited to see the film and see where (the tight ends) are at.” Okwuegbunam remains the favorite to open the season as Denver's lead pass-catching TE, especially with rookie Greg Dulcich still dealing with hamstring trouble. But it's clear that the Broncos' new coaching staff isn't yet completely sold on him.
Texans HC Lovie Smith commented on WR Nico Collins following Week 2 of the preseason. Collins (6'4, 215) caught a jump ball in the end zone — something Smith hopes to see more of this fall. "Nico's a big target with a lot of talent," Smith said. "We want to get him in those type of [jump ball] situations. We continue to run the ball well. If we run the ball well, we'll get more one-on-one situations for Nico. As I say, he's got length, he can catch the ball. It's a big play by him there. He's capable of making a lot of plays like that.” We’re fully on board with the 2nd-year man as a late-round target in fantasy drafts.
49ers RB Trey Sermon is dealing with an ankle injury, per HC Kyle Shanahan. The issue popped up in practice on Thursday. It must be minor, though, as Sermon rushed 5 times (for 8 yards) in a preseason game on Saturday.
Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle hasn't practiced in ~10 days with what’s believed to be a “minor soft tissue injury,” per insider Adam Beasley. He’s sat out both preseason games. The team isn’t “outwardly concerned” about Waddle’s ability to play Week 1, but we’ll track the 2nd-year WR’s progress leading up to the opener vs. New England.
Chargers RB Isaiah Spiller left Saturday night's preseason game against the Cowboys with an ankle injury and was deemed questionable to return. That designation might indicate it's not serious, but we'll watch for a specific diagnosis. Spiller has been fighting Joshua Kelly and Larry Rountree for the #2 job behind Austin Ekeler.
The 49ers started RB Trey Sermon in the backfield in Saturday's 2nd preseason game against the Vikings, but 2 other RBs also saw touches on the team's 1st drive. San Francisco sat Elijah Mitchell and Jeff Wilson Jr., along with QB Trey Lance and some other starters. Sermon led the RBs who did play, but JaMycal Hasty and Tyrion Davis-Price joined him for 1 carry apiece amid the team's 4-play 1st drive. Sermon was the only RB to garner touches over the next 2 drives and finished the 1st half with 5 carries and 2 targets. vs. 2 total opportunities for each of his teammates. None generated much yardage in that span. Even if Sermon enters the season ahead of Davis-Price and Hasty on the depth chart, he might still sit 3rd behind Mitchell and Wilson in touch distribution. The primary takeaway here should probably be that this remains a crowded backfield.
Steelers rookie QB Kenny Pickett worked 2nd behind Mitchell Trubisky in Saturday's preseason game against the Jaguars, and he fared quite well. The 1st-round pick completed 6 of 7 passes for 76 yards and a go-ahead TD with time running out at the end of the 1st half. He logged a near-perfect 151.5 passer routing and worked with Pittsburgh's starting pass-catchers. HC Mike Tomlin seemed impressed afterward with Pickett driving the team for the late-1st-half TD. "It's probably who he is," Tomlin said, referring to Pickett's ability to perform under pressure. "I know he did it next door [in college]. He probably did it in high school, and he probably did it in little league. Some things, people are born with." Tomlin also said that he thought Trubisky "played well" and that the team needed to protect him better and run the ball more effectively to give a "fair evaluation" between the QBs. When asked whether there would be any movement on the QB depth chart, Tomlin declined to make any "knee-jerk reactions." From our vantage point, Pickett certainly seems to be building his case for taking over the job at some point this year -- even if he doesn't claim it by Week 1.
Steelers RB Benny Snell started Saturday's 2nd preseason game against Jacksonville, working ahead of rookie Jaylen Warren. That's noteworthy because Warren has generated plenty of training-camp buzz. That included at least 1 Steelers writer positing this week that he believed Warren has already earned the #2 job. Saturday's usage, of course, doesn't necessarily mean that Snell remains the backup to Najee Harris. But it does mean we'll need to continue watching before anointing the new guy. Anthony McFarland is also in the mix for roles behind Harris. We'll see whether all 3 backup candidates make the regular-season roster.
Bears LB Roquan Smith practiced with his team for the 1st time in training camp Saturday, ending his "hold in." Smith has reportedly decided to play out the final year of his rookie contract. It's not a shocking move, as Smith has little leverage in his quest for a contract extension. We haven't move him down our rankings through the hold in. We'll see what happens with Smith and the Bears beyond this season.
Bears rookie S Jaquon Brisker recently had surgery to address the thumb injury he suffered in the team's preseason opener, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Brisker reportedly has a decent chance to return for Week 1.
Bears RB Trestan Ebner left Friday night's preseason game with an ankle injury and remained out for Saturday's practice, according to SB Nation's Windy City Gridiron. We'll see about the severity.
Bears RB Khalil Herbert left Saturday's practice on a cart, according to multiple reports. We have yet to see any details beyond that but will certainly be watching for more.
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