179 days after the New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams to win the Super Bowl, football is back! The Denver Broncos defeated the Atlanta Falcons 14-10 in the annual Hall of Fame Game, the pre-season debut in celebration of Champ Bailey, Tony Gonzalez and the other members of the 2019 class.
The Broncos got a late touchdown connection between rookies QB Brett Rypien and WR Juwann Winfree to steal a win in the pre-season kickoff. It was a game first-time HC Vic Fangio nearly missed as he had to be taken to the hospital prior to the game due to a kidney stone.
Overall, it was not a game for fantasy footballers to glean anything from as the top players for both the Broncos and Falcons sat this one out. Potential future Denver starting QB Drew Lock did make his debut, connecting on seven of 11 attempts for 34 yards, while rookie TE Noah Fant managed one catch for seven yards.
Week One of the NFL preseason kicks off next Thursday with a full slate of games.
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Thomas Gets Paid
While a handful of players around the league continue to hold out, one deal has gotten done. The Saints and WR Michael Thomas agreed to a massive five-year, $100 million deal, making him the highest-paid WR in the history of the league. The Saints met Thomas’ wish of being the first receiver to average $20 million per season in a deal that guarantees him $61 million. This is good news for other wideouts next in line for a new contract, including Julio Jones, Amari Cooper and Tyreek Hill.
Green Injury News
After initially being diagnosed with an ankle injury that would not require surgery, Bengals star receiver A.J. Green did, in fact, go under the knife. Green will now miss regular-season games. While HC Zac Taylor suggested Green may only miss “a couple of games,” he added that the hope was to “be ready to go at the beginning half of the season.” Uh oh. The Bengals will rely heavily on WR Tyler Boyd as WR John Ross is also missing time with an injury.
Injury Updates
WR Mack Hollins missed Eagles practice with a lower-body injury…Seahawks DE L.J. Collier suffered what HC Pete Carroll called a “rare” high-ankle sprain and will likely miss the remainder of the preseason…Jaguars LB Quincy Williams has a slight tear in his meniscus and will miss 4-6 weeks…49ers RB Jerick McKinnon (knee) remains on the PUP list…Packers RB Aaron Jones (hamstring) missed Thursday’s practice…Giants WR Sterling Shepard (thumb) has been cleared to participate in live drills. His injury is not as serious as first thought and he could be ready for Week One…Cardinals WR Chad Williams has yet to participate in any practices and it could cost him his job…Packers RB Jamaal Williams (hamstring) has missed the past four practices…The Titans placed WR Cameron Batson on injured reserve, ending his season…The Texans activated rookie TE Kahale Warring from the active/NFI list…Colts rookie WR Parris Campbell (hamstring) has missed the past three practices…Patriots veteran WR Demaryius Thomas (Achilles) has yet to be cleared and is a candidate to land on the PUP list to begin the season…Jets WR Jamison Crowder (foot) was cleared to return to practice.
Holdout Update
This is no surprise, but OT Trent Williams has reportedly claimed he is willing to sit out the entire season rather than suit up for the Redskins again. Williams has reportedly been unwilling to even discuss a new contract with Washington and has not “demanded specific changes on the medical staff.” The relationship between the two sides has been described as fractured. The Redskins have reportedly had some trade talks regarding Williams.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones remains confident his team will come to an agreement with holdout RB Ezekiel Elliott, though he says they will not cave to undue demands. The two sides remain far apart from a deal.
Jaguars DE Yannick Ngakoue is expected to report to camp by the August 6thdeadline to maintain his unrestricted free agency following the season.
He suggested the possibility early on in his holdout from the Chargers and now RB Melvin Gordon has officially requested a trade from the team. The team did not give Gordon’s agent permission to seek a trade.[[ad:athena]]
Quick Hits
Long-time K Phil Dawson signed a one-day contract with the Cleveland Browns and announced his retirement after 20 seasons…The Eagles signed S Johnathan Cyprien to a one-year contract…This is no surprise, but OT Trent Williams has reportedly claimed he is willing to sit out the entire season rather than suit up for the Redskins again…Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff suggested the team was willing to make WR Julio Jones the highest-paid receiver in the league…Oakland claimed former Ravens WR Jordan Lasley from waivers…The Jets signed C Ryan Kalil to a one-year, $8.4 million deal…The Broncos signed former Lions RB Theo Riddick…Yahoo reports that the Broncos are “feeling really good” about second-year RB Royce Freeman and hope to “establish a true split”…Panthers HC Ron Rivera said the team plans to limit the plays, but not touches, for RB Christian McCaffrey…ESPN has projected a nearly-even split between Miami RBs Kalen Ballage and Kenyan Drake…Cardinals rookie WR KeeSean Johnson “continues to shine” in practice and is now being projected as the team’s number three wideout…Buccaneers HC Bruce Arians said he expects a “good battle” between RBs Peyton Barber and Ronald Jones for the starting job…Beat writers have suggested WR Maurice Harris is a lock to make the Patriots and is in contention to earn a starting job.
