The Falcons released RB D'Onta Foreman. Atlanta is down to Mike Davis, Qadree Ollison and Cordarrelle Patterson at RB. We'll see if they add to the backfield over the next few days. But Davis is looking safer and safer as the team's clear lead back.
Saints WR Michael Thomas (ankle) is expected to be placed on the reserve PUP list, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. That'd keep Thomas out for at least the first 6 weeks of the season. New Orleans does have a Week 6 bye, so it's possible that Thomas only misses 5 games. None of this comes as a surprise after NFL Network's Ian Rapoport pinpointed Week 7 as Thomas' earliest potential return back in July.
The Patriots have placed CB Stephon Gilmore on the PUP list to open the regular season, as he continues to work back from quad surgery at the end of 2020. The designation means Gilmore will miss at least the 1st 6 games. That leaves room for Jalen Mills to open the year as a full-time player. A CB-safety hybrid at this point, Mills carries some late intrigue in IDP drafts.
The Dolphins on Monday released LB Benardrick McKinney. The move is somewhat surprising, after Miami traded for him in the offseason. But the Texans had already traded away the other player in the deal, DE Shaq Lawson. McKinney's departure leaves Elandon Roberts as the team's #2 off-ball LB, starting alongside Jerome Baker.
It was easy to write off Falcons TE Hayden Hurst after the team drafted Kyle Pitts 4th overall and declined the 5th-year option on Hurst's rookie contract (making this the final year on his deal). But Matt Urben of Falcons Wire says to "look for Hurst to be a featured player" in the offense this year, which is expected to deploy multiple TEs as part of the plan to replace WR Julio Jones' production. We'll have to see just what Hurst's role looks like, but we saw HC Arthur Smith use Jonnu Smith and Anthony Firkser simultaneously with last year's Titans. The biggest draw to Hurst is an ADP that will find him undrafted in most fantasy football leagues.
According to Jeff Risdon of Lions Wire, WR Kalif Raymond has "been the most consistent downfield weapon all summer in Detroit, seizing a starting WR spot and showing some playmaking ability." Detroit recently cut WR Breshad Perriman. Veteran WR Tyrell Williams looks like the top guy, but it also looks like a pretty open situation for garnering target share. Raymond has seen just 30 total targets since hitting the NFL in 2016 as an undrafted free agent. He's already on his 5th team. So odds are against him gaining fantasy relevance this season. But he might be in the only WR corps in the league where it's a possibility. We wouldn't draft Raymond in any but the deepest of fantasy football leagues. But we'll keep an eye on his role.
The Patriots have surprisingly released QB Cam Newton, according to multiple reports. We wouldn't have been shocked to see the team name Mac Jones its Week 1 starter, but we certainly did not foresee New England unloading Newton completely. Jones graded out among the top passers across the league in preseason, according to Pro Football Focus. His ascension should be good news for the fantasy outlooks for basically everyone in the New England offense. It signals a more traditional scheme as opposed to last year's run-heavy approach. It returns lead status near the goal line to Damien Harris and the RBs. And it should mean more -- and more accurate -- targets for all pass-catchers. We're not overly interested in Jones as a fantasy football prospect, but Jakobi Meyers, Jonnu Smith, Hunter Henry, Nelson Agholor and James White all gain some late-round appeal. RB Damien Harris also gets a bump. Check out the updated projections for the Patriots.
The Saints released RB Devonta Freeman. The 29-year-old mustered just 3.7 yards per carry this preseason and is just about out of gas. We'll see what New Orleans does with RB Latavius Murray, who's been mentioned as a cut candidate.
James Johnson of Jaguars Wire says that WR Marvin Jones "was the favorite target of rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence in training camp." It's certainly worth noting here that WR D.J. Chark missed most of August after surgery for a hand fracture. That could only help Jones' prominence, obviously. But it's also worth noting that Jones remains 2+ rounds behind both Chark and Laviska Shenault in fantasy football draft ADP. We're not assuming Jones will stand out as the lead target here, but the lack of clarity to the situation adds appeal to snagging the latest option in drafts. Jones has long given us wide swings in week-to-week production. But he also remained fantasy-viable into his age-30 season last year. Jones finished the past 2 seasons 18th and 28th (in 13 games) among PPR wideouts.
According to Chris Roling of Bengals Wire, Cincinnati coaches have indicated that "roughly 50 catches wouldn't be a surprise" for TE C.J. Uzomah this season. That's not an exciting level, just 2.9 receptions per game. But it would have tied for 19th among TEs last year. So keep Uzomah in mind as a fill-in option or late stash in a TE-premium format.
Henry McKenna of Patriots Wire says it would "surprise" him if WR Jakobi Meyers doesn't lead the Patriots in receptions and receiving yards this year. "Meyers has been the best pass-catcher at training camp and in preseason," McKenna writes. "It's not even close." We'll see exactly what that means for weekly target counts in an offense that figures to remain run-heavy as long as QB Cam Newton is behind center. But we'd also bet on New England transitioning to rookie Mac Jones at some point this year. Either way, Meyers is a low-risk PPR bet well outside the top 50 at WR.
Browns LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah missed Sunday night's preseason finale because of a "freak" weightlifting accident that left him with a gash in his forehead, according to Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot. The rookie needed stitches, then missed the rest of the practice week and the exhibition because he couldn't wear a helmet over the injury. Cabot believes JOK still has a shot at starting the regular-season opener against the Chiefs because of the athletic ability he has showed in camp and preseason. We have yet to see Owusu-Koramoah work in that role yet, though. For now, he's a late stash in deeper IDP drafts, with big upside.
49ers QB Trey Lance has a small “chip” in his finger, per HC Kyle Shanahan. The rookie is expected to miss about 1 week. That puts him back in time for Week 1. Even if Jimmy Garoppolo starts, the preseason showed us that the Niners might give Lance a handful of snaps right away.
The Texans are prepared to make QB Deshaun Watson a healthy scratch all season, insider Aaron Wilson reports. Watson isn't going to play for Houston -- and no trade is "imminent," per Wilson. This was always a distinct possibility, between Watson's issues with the Texans organization and his legal troubles. QB Tyrod Taylor will open the season as Houston's starter.
Vikings TE Tyler Conklin (hamstring) returned to practice on Monday, according to beat writer Chris Tomasson. Conklin missed 2 weeks with the hamstring injury. But, barring a setback, he's set to open the season as Minnesota's lead TE. We're still waiting to hear how long TE Irv Smith will be out.
The Chiefs released RB Darwin Thompson. They're set to enter the season with Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Darrel Williams and Jerick McKinnon atop the depth chart.
The Jaguars on Monday activated DE/OLB Josh Allen from the COVID list. That comes 7 days after he landed on it, indicating that Allen never tested positive. He should be good to go for the regular-season opener.
The Eagles announced Monday that they have activated S Rodney McLeod from the PUP list. He had been on it since the start of camp while working back from a 2020 ACL tear. His activation ahead of the team setting the 53-man roster points to McLeod being ready early in the season -- perhaps in time for the opener. Philly would have had to keep him on the PUP list if the team wanted to have him open the season on it.
Vikings HC Mike Zimmer expects TE Tyler Conklin to return to practice next week. He's been sidelined since injuring his hamstring on August 16. With TE Irv Smith out at least for the start of the season -- and potentially much longer -- Conklin is atop Minnesota's depth chart. We'll see if the Vikings add to the position.
Vikings HC Mike Zimmer said Monday that TE Irv Smith will have surgery this week to repair his meniscus injury. Unfortunately, he had no update on how long we should expect Smith to be out. "We'll just see where he's at," Zimmer said, per ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "A lot of times you can't really tell anything until you get in there. We really won't know until they get in there." We'll watch for updates after the surgery.
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