NFL Player News

Emanuel was forced too play all too much as a rookie in 2005. He became expendable when the team signed Mark Roman.

Cleveland’s Mary Kay Cabot reports that Jeudy “felt something in his hamstring today,” so he sat out. Coach Todd Monken made clear that he does not give veterans rest days right now, so if a player sits, it’s because they are being cautious with an injury. Today was the Browns’ final mandatory minicamp practice. They will now go on break until training camp begins in July. Early in May, Cabot reported that the team is hoping Jeudy reclaims his WR1 role this season. Browns rookie WRs KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston have been taking full rotations with both the No. 1 and No. 2 offensive groups. Yesterday, ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi reported Boston “has been one of the Browns’ standouts this summer.” Get well soon, Jeudy. The youngsters look promising.

Monken noted that this is easy to say now, because the team is not practicing in pads. That said, Monken opined that “it feels like he’s making quicker decisions” and that the ball is coming out of his hands faster, which he has to continue doing on game days. Monken adds that Sanders possesses playmaking ability, but he needs to “eliminate lost-yards plays.” It sounds like Sanders’ to-do list is fairly straightforward. The battle between him and QB Deshaun Watson continues.

Organized team activities (OTAs) are conducted without pads, but this is still encouraging. Irving participated in rushing and receiving drills today, at the Buccaneers’ final session before mandatory minicamp begins on June 16th. In mid-May, general manager Jason Licht said Irving would be limited at OTAs, but should be “ready” for training camp in July. Head coach Todd Bowles muddled the return timeline a couple of weeks later, saying Irving was “expected back sometime in summer or fall.” Apparently, that time is now. Hopefully, Irving makes it through today’s session without issue and can continue practicing next week. He remains atop the depth chart, but the coaching staff has noted that RB Kenny Gainwell possesses a similar skill set to Irving, and recently complimented RB Sean Tucker’s short-yardage rushing chops. It looks an awful lot like a committee.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Payton is now under contract through 2030. Schefter noted that Broncos GM George Paton is also signed through the 2030 season. Payton came out of retirement to coach the Broncos in 2023. His first season with Russell Wilson was a struggle, but Payton has since found his stride with Bo Nix under center. The duo won 10 games in Nix’s rookie season and improved that mark to 14 last year. Had Nix not suffered a season-ending injury in the Divisional Round, Denver likely would have made it past the Patriots en route to a Super Bowl appearance. As expected, the Broncos have no intentions of letting Payton go anytime soon.

Ridley suffered a broken fibula in Week 11 of the 2025 season and missed the remainder of the year. He hadn’t participated in any 7-on-7 or team drills up until this point, making today’s participation a major step in the right direction. Ridley agreed to a restructured deal to stay in Tennessee this offseason. He will tumble to third in the pecking order for targets now that Carnell Tate and Wan’Dale Robinson are both in the fold. That should still allow for the occasional splash play, but fantasy managers should look elsewhere for FLEX options.

Charbonnet suffered a torn ACL in Seattle’s first playoff game during their Super Bowl run. He has done some light work at minicamp and MacDonald hinted that he’s ahead of schedule. It would still be surprising to see Charbonnet on the field for Week 1, but it’s at least a good sign that MacDonald is leaving the door open. If he isn’t ready for the start of the season, George Holani would be in line to back up first-round rookie Jadarian Price. Holani would likely see the bulk of his snaps on passing downs, giving him some RB3 potential in PPR leagues.

Boston (6'4/210) was viewed as a classic, downfield X-receiver pre-draft, possessing the “ability to make tough catches downfield.” Boston successfully high-pointed a pass from QB Deshaun Watson today, producing what Oyefusi referred to as the top highlight at Wednesday’s practice. Boston has also “been a reliable pass catcher on short and intermediate routes” thus far. If he can keep it up, he has a chance to earn a starting role early in his career.

Apparently, the rookie tight end picked up a hamstring injury during organized team activities last week. He participated in punt drills as well as walkthrough today. The Saints have one last practice tomorrow before going on a brief break until mandatory minicamp, which begins on June 16th, so hopefully he can increase his workload without issue tomorrow. That said, we are not overly concerned about Delp’s status. He may only be limited to TE2 duties behind veteran TE Juwan Johnson this season.

Good. Many of us expected Shaheed to hit the ground running after the Seahawks traded for him last season, reuniting him with former OC Klint Kubiak. He posted an 18/266/0 receiving line from Weeks 10 through Super Bowl LX, yet the Seahawks re-signed him to a three-year, $51 million contract this offseason. The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar said he believes Shaheed’s deal “suggests a demotion” for WR Cooper Kupp. Shaheed possesses big-play ability. Putting him in the WR2 role is logical. It will be interesting to see how the team splits up reps between the two of them in training camp.