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    Cowing a returner, some pass game opportunities?

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    SF Wide Receiver #19
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    ESPN’s Nick Wagoner believes 49ers WR Jacob Cowing has “a chance to carve out a role as a returner with some opportunities in the passing game.”

    This doesn’t exactly sound like a fantasy-friendly role. Wagoner listed him as the 49ers’ player who was the “biggest surprise” of organized team activities and mandatory minicamp, “consistently making big plays down the field in team drills and 7-on-7.” Unfortunately, the wide receiver room is crowded. Despite the solid play, Cowing will have a tough time earning a reliable role in the offense.
Skattebo slated to be Giants' lead running back
Patrick Daugherty and Denny Carter assess what Cam Skattebo's presumed role as the starting running back for New York Giants will mean for fantasy managers with his injury seemingly behind him.

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  • SF Wide Receiver #17
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    Watkins drew positive reviews as a rookie last summer, but September ankle and calf injuries stunted his development, pushing him to the bottom of the depth chart. Cowing’s second NFL season was derailed by a recurring hamstring strain. The Athletic’s Matt Barrows listed him as a standout at Thursday’s practice, but he caught just four passes as a 2024 rookie. Expectations for him must be tempered. Watkins is worth monitoring for deep-league managers.
  • SF Wide Receiver #19
    The team now has 21 days to observe Cowing in practice before officially activating him from injured reserve. The move comes at the right time. 49ers WR Ricky Pearsall aggravated his knee injury in Week 17 and was unable to play in Week 18. Cowing is not a full-on replacement for Pearsall, if the latter player remains sidelined, but having another wide receiver available is at least mildly helpful. The team also signed LB Milo Eifler to a reserve/future contract.
  • SF Wide Receiver #11
    The Niners continue to push back the return for Aiyuk, who is still working his way back from the season-ending knee injury he suffered in 2024. 49ers general manager John Lynch said last week that the team still plans to get Aiyuk on the field at some point this season, but the timeline for his return remains a mystery. In addition to Aiyuk, the Niners also said they won’t be opening Jacob Cowing’s return window until after their Week 14 bye. Cowing has been sidelined with a hamstring injury.
  • SF Wide Receiver #19
    He’ll miss at least the first four games of the season. Cowing dealt with problems in the hamstring throughout training camp and ultimately won’t be able to take advantage of a golden chance while Brandon Aiyuk is out early in the season. The 49ers re-signed P Thomas Morstead to take Cowing’s spot on the roster.
  • SF Wide Receiver #19
    Cowing strained his hamstring in practice last month. Just as he was set to return, he now suffers a setback, having strained his hamstring again in Tuesday’s practice. The 49ers wideout group continues to take hits, with Demarcus Robinson facing suspension and Jordan Watkins (ankle), Brandon Aiyuk (knee), and Jauan Jennings (calf) all out for now. Ricky Pearsall seems to be the only wide receiver slated for targets, but the 49ers may shop around for a veteran to add to the mix.
  • SF Wide Receiver #17
    The hits keep on coming for the Niners, who are expected to be without Brandon Aiyuk (knee) for at least the first month of the season, and are at risk of being without Jauan Jennings (calf) as well. Jacob Cowing is also battling a hamstring injury, although Kyle Shanahan said he could return to practice on Tuesday. Still, it goes without saying that the Niners’ receiver room is banged up, and Watkins had a chance to see some work early in the season with the injuries piling up. It was reported earlier this month that Watkins was ‘in the mix’ for WR3/WR4 duties. A month-long absence means Watkins could be at risk of missing the first month of the season, but we’ll likely get more clarity on that as Week 1 draws closer.
  • SF Wide Receiver #19
    Shanahan lumped CB Renardo Green (hamstring) into the injury update with the same return-to-play target date. Cowing strained his hamstring on July 23. Returning in time for the August 16 game gives the two more than three weeks to rehab the issue. It will cost them valuable practice time, though.
  • SF Wide Receiver #19
    Cowing was a rising star during the 49ers’ spring practices, drawing praise from reporters including The Athletic’s Vic Tafur, who said he could take over some of Deebo Samuel’s vacant gadget touches. Now Cowing will join Brandon Aiyuk and Ricky Pearsall on the sidelines. Aiyuk is recovering from a torn ACL and isn’t expected to be ready for Week 1. Pearsall is dealing with a lingering hamstring issue but isn’t expected to miss much time. Despite airing his desire for a new contract publicly, Jauan Jennings showed up to practice and fully participated on Wednesday, putting any notions of a “hold-in” to bed. If the 49ers can’t field a healthy receiving corps around him, Jennings will project for a gaudy target share out of the gates.
  • SF Wide Receiver #19
    Cowing boasts 4.3 speed and reportedly added weight in the offseason after weighing in at 168 pounds as a rookie. With Samuel now in Washington and Aiyuk (knee) a candidate to open the season on the PUP list, it’s easy to see an early path for Cowing to earn more opportunities this season. Last year’s first-rounder, Ricky Pearsall, is also expected to see an uptick in targets and Jauan Jennings is coming off a breakout season (77-975-6), but Cowing makes for an interesting late-round target in deeper leagues given the current state of the Niners’ receiving room. Cowing caught 316 passes for 4,477 yards and 33 touchdowns during five college seasons while averaging a solid 6.3 yards after the catch per reception.
  • SF Wide Receiver #19
    After polling coaches, Barrows also noted a theme, indicating “no one took better advantage of the offseason than Cowing.” The 49ers were taking advantage of his speed as a downfield threat this spring, and Barrows suggests Cowing “can run a lot of the gadget plays that went to Deebo Samuel in previous years.” A series of unfortunate events may have to occur for Cowing to climb past the No. 6 spot in the 49ers’ passing game pecking order, but it’s good for his odds of being the player that can step up in case of injury that he’s drawing this kind of praise.

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    Commanders hired former Vikings assistant GM Demitrius Washington as senior personnel executive.

    Washington spent the past four seasons in the Vikings front office, most recently as assistant general manager. With Minnesota moving on to a new front office, he was let go after Nolan Teasley was hired as general manager. Washington now joins the Commanders as senior personnel executive after previous incumbent Scott Fitterer left to join agency Athletes First. Commanders general manager Adam Peters previously worked with Washington in San Francisco’s front office from 2017-2021.
  • NYG Defensive Lineman #97
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    Giants claimed DL C.J. Ravenell off waivers from the Titans.

    Former Titans DC Dennard Wilson is now the Giants DC, and Ravennell had also been with John Harbaugh in Baltimore before playing 14 games for the Titans last year. The Giants have plenty of potential snaps available along the defensive line, so the connections made Ravenell an easy claim.
  • ATL Defensive End #48
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    Falcons EDGE Bralen Trice (knee) did 11-on-11 work during the early offseason period.

    Trice tore his ACL in a 2024 preseason game against the Dolphins, then missed all of last year on injured reserve when he had a setback. The 2024 third-rounder has yet to play in an NFL game, but could push for a roster spot this year if he manages to stay healthy.
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    NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports the Buccaneers and Baker Mayfield are “not close” on an extension.

    “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done on this one,” Garafolo continued. “The Bucs are in no rush.” All outward projections have been that Mayfield and the Buccaneers will eventually find a middle ground, and Todd Bowles recently said that there’s “absolutely no question” he wants Mayfield as his quarterback for a long term. But it does seem like the two sides have very different dollar values attached to Mayfield and that this might be something that simmers into training camp.
  • PHI Running Back #26
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    An NFL coordinator told ESPN Saquon Barkley “tends to need things perfectly set up for him.”

    ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler spoke with NFL coaches and front office officials about the league’s best running backs. Barkley ranked third behind Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs. “My only criticism is that he doesn’t always produce when things aren’t completely clean,” an NFL coordinator said of Barkley, adding that Barkley should be treated as a three-down back. “That’s dating back to the Giants. Tends to need things perfectly set up for him.” This could explain why Barkley had a disappointing 2025 campaign in an Eagles offense that struggled to move the ball for much of the season. Barkley, who is widely expected to have a bigger role in the Philadelphia passing offense in 2026, last season ranked 45th out of 60 qualifying backs in yards after contact per rush, alongside Woody Marks and Breece Hall. Tank Bigsby, Barkley’s backfield mate, led the NFL in yards after contact per attempt.
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    The Athletic’s Chad Graf believes the Patriots will face fewer stacked boxes in 2026.

    The presence of A.J. Brown in the New England offense, Graf said, could stop teams from crowding the line of scrimmage this season. The Patriots in 2025 faced the league’s second highest rate of stacked boxes (eight or more defenders) at 52 percent, as opposing defenses were not afraid of the team’s pass-catching options. This in turn created less-than-optimal conditions for TreVeon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson. New England last year ranked 18th in yards before contact per attempt, a rate that could (should) rise if defenses give more respect to the passing attack. Graf said Henderson could continue missing out on valuable snaps if he hasn’t improved his pass protection this offseason.
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    Former Lions CB Terrion Arnold cleared waivers and is now a free agent.

    Arnold is facing a mountain of legal issues in connection with a February robbery and kidnapping that took place in Tampa Bay. It comes as no surprise that he cleared waivers, and according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter the 2024 first-round pick “is expected to visit NFL teams that have expressed interest in signing him.” Arnold’s lawyer came out last week and said at least three teams have already expressed interest in signing him, but we would be surprised if any deal got done before his case is completely behind him.
  • FA Defensive Lineman #97
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    Titans waived DL C.J. Ravenell

    Ravenell played in 14 games for the Titans last season and made one start. The former UDFA totaled six tackles and a forced fumble while appearing on 97 defensive snaps. He will now go on waivers where teams will have a chance to claim him. If he goes unclaimed, Ravenell will be free to sign with any team.
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    ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio reports the Browns received cap relief for Deshaun Watson’s injuries.

    Florio’s discoveries come after he was asked, “How much cap space did the Browns save due to the insurance policy on Deshaun Watson for him missing the entire 2025 season?” After what appears to be an exhaustive amount of work to come up with a ballpark figure, Florio reports the “total in cap credit for 2024 through 2029" was just over $88 million, a total that is derived from reported cap credits the Browns have received or will receive that range from $4.951 million to $8.79 million. These were reflected in records obtained from the NFLPA, which showed in multiple locations in Watson’s contract a “return of [signing bonus] from insurance policy,” per Florio. Watson is in the final year of a record-setting five-year, $230 million fully-guaranteed contract that has come up well short of expectations for the Browns thus far. While the team is still ultimately on the hook for paying Watson, $88 million in refunds for the games Watson missed due to injury may have dulled some of the pain of those expenses for the Haslam family.
  • WAS Cornerback #26
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    Commanders signed CB Rasul Douglas, formerly of the Dolphins, to a one-year contract.

    According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Douglas can reportedly earn “up to $3.8 million” on his contract. The Commanders continue to look for ways to revamp a secondary that ranked among the league’s worst last season and are hopeful that Douglas can provide some additional help. The 31-year-old corner started 13 of the 15 games he appeared in last season, totaling 13 pass breakups and two interceptions while earning a PFF coverage grade of 72.6. He has played primarily on the outside for his career and played 749 of his 851 outside last season.