It was Chris Rodriguez that drew the start after Brian Robinson and the Commanders mutually agreed that the veteran back would not play amidst news of the team shopping him, but both backs looked spry in the preseason tuneup. Roriguez got the fun started with a 40-yard scamper on the team’s first possession before Jacory, ahem, Bill, Croskey-Merritt found paint from 27 yards out on the following possession. The two almost certainly sealed the fate of Robinson in Washington with the team seemingly more than content moving forward without his services during a contract year. It shouldn’t take long for Bill to assert himself in this backfield if we are to believe the glaring reports coming from camp this offseason.

It’s important to note that McDaniel said the decision to keep Achane out of practice this week is “preventative in nature,” which seemingly downplays the severity of this injury. Achane was reported last week to have suffered a “soft tissue lower-body injury” that would keep him out between “days and weeks,” but it doesn’t sound like he’ll be at risk of missing Week 1 based on McDaniel’s update. We’ll have to revisit this the next time McDaniel provides an update on his RB1’s availability.

Jefferson hasn’t done much since suffering a mild hamstring strain at the start of camp. The Vikings are doing everything to ensure their WR1 is in good health before the start of the season, but will begin ramping him up with Week 1 less than a month away. O’Connell said last week that Jefferson was “definitely progressing” in his recovery, so Monday’s return marks another step in the right direction. His absence during camp due to a soft-tissue injury is concerning, but the Vikings could have just been exercising extreme caution in this instance. It sounds like he’ll be on track to start in Week 1 barring any setbacks.

This comes to the surprise of nobody. The Browns opened camp with what was announced as a four-way quarterback competition, but Kenny Pickett, rookie third-rounder Dillon Gabriel, and rookie fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders never stood much of a chance at unseating the 40-year-old signal-caller. Flacco led the Browns to a playoff appearance in 2023 when he threw for 1,616-13-8 in five starts on his way to winning AP Comeback Player of the Year. Last season with the Colts, Flacco threw for 1,781-12-7 in eight games, proving again to be prone to turnovers while playing more loosely and freely than in his days in Baltimore. While Flacco will open the season as the Browns’ starter, we would expect to see a few different starters under center before the season is up. He’ll profile a mid-QB2 against the Bengals in what could be a high-scoring affair.

Our national nightmare is over. After refusing on Saturday to say if Stafford worked out as planned, the Rams’ QB1 took to the field in full pads and jersey on Monday, looking ready for his first taste of training camp practice. Stafford has been dealing with a back injury for weeks and, at one point, had an epidural to help with the pain. Stafford has endured numerous injuries throughout his 16-year career, including multiple back injuries. Head coach Sean McVay said last week that part of Stafford’s absence last week was due to function and pain tolerance, which doesn’t seem great. The Rams are going to do what they can to have Stafford ready for the season, but we wouldn’t assume he’s a lock to start Week 1 until we see how he progresses in the coming weeks. If he’s unable to go at any point in the season, Jimmy Garoppolo would take the reins at QB1.

Love underwent surgery to correct a ligament issue on his non-throwing hand, but was away for less than a week. The Packers’ QB1 was sporting a glove on his hand, but appears to be on track to be ready for Week 1 when the Packers play host to the Lions. Love finished as the QB20 in fantasy points per game last season and had only six top-12 weeks. He’ll profile most weeks as a mid QB2 in an offense that’s expected to feature plenty of Josh Jacobs after leading the league with a 53 percent neutral rush rate last season.

Robinson averaged fewer than 4.0 yards per carry in five of his final seven games last year, and the Commanders are said to be focused on creating more explosive plays this season. Enter Day 3 rookie RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who has steadily earned the coaching staff’s praise through spring and summer practices. The team also has RB Chris Rodriguez Jr., who boasts a career 4.9 YPC average through two seasons operating as a rotational rusher. Robinson is scheduled to enter free agency at the end of the year. If the front office feels good about Croskey-Merritt and Rodriguez, it makes sense for them to send Robinson away in exchange for future draft capital or a young player at a position of need.

It was reported last week that Nabers was missing practice due to a shoulder injury. Now, there’s a back injury that may or may not be related to his shoulder injury. It’s hard to know without an official team injury report. Regardless, Nabers hasn’t practiced in 11 days and seems unlikely to appear in the team’s final preseason game against the Patriots next week. Head coach Brian Daboll declared last week that he’s “not going to get into any injuries,” which he has largely stuck to this offseason. At this point, the best we can do is hope this is a minor issue for Nabers that won’t keep him out for Week 1 when the Giants visit the Commanders, but we may not get any clear insight on his situation until the week leading up to the game. Nabers caught 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns last season and profiles as a strong WR1 in half and full-PPR formats.

Rapoport writes that “with contract talks at an impasse,” the Bengals are finally open to dealing the 2024 sack leader. A willingness to deal Hendrickson would have been better for everybody if the Bengals had considered this months ago, but now the four-time Pro Bowler will hope to find a new home and contract with just three weeks to go before the start of the season. Hendrickson has been holding in at Bengals camp since reporting on July 30, and may need some time to ramp up for the start of the season. In theory, he should have several suitors on the market, but a trade could prove difficult given the pick compensation the acquiring team would have to give up and the money that team would spend on giving Hendrickson a new contract.

We’ve finally reached the point where Daboll will be asked on a near-weekly basis who his starting quarterback is until the team inevitably inserts Jaxson Dart as QB1. The question isn’t unwarranted after Dart completed 14-of-16 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown against the Jets on Saturday night, but Wilson was always expected to open the season as the starter, and as of now, those plans haven’t changed. That said, the precision and command Dart showed on Saturday was impressive, and may lead to a changing of the guard that’s a bit sooner than expected. We should still expect Wilson under center in Week 1 when the Giants take on the Commanders.