NFL Player News

Matua was a seventh-round pick by Detroit who later caught on with Tennessee’s practice team. He’ll add depth to a poor interior line. Perkins, a former fourth-round pick they tried at safety, has been a bust.

White only appeared in six games for the Raiders last year. He logged a dozen carries for 32 yards. With Kaelon Black, Jordan James, Isaac Guerendo, and Christian McCaffrey all banged up, the 49ers desperately need another warm body as they head into their first preseason contest. White could even see some run versus the Titans tomorrow, though he is still a long-shot to make the 53-man roster at the end of camp.

This is not parody, somehow. Penix infamously tore his right ACL twice while in college and then suffered a partial tear in his left ACL last year. The totally real doctor was presumably referring to his left knee. Penix, who hasn’t participated in team drills during training camp, later added that the only thing he can’t do in practice right now is take a hit. Last we checked, that is a major part of the game of football. Meanwhile, Tua Tagovailoa is slated to start the team’s preseason opener versus Denver later this week. Penix doesn’t seem to have much of a shot at being the Week 1 starter given his slow recovery, but the leash on Tua will be short. Penix remains the favorite to start more games this year, though only by a narrow margin.

Andy Reid also echoed this sentiment earlier in the offseason. As Rapoport points out, Rice was already suspended for his involvement in a hit-and-run car crash in 2024. He violated his probation this year and spent 30 days in jail, but it doesn’t sound like the league plans to punish him any further. Rice is also recovering from offseason knee surgery and has received mixed reviews over the first two weeks of training camp. For fantasy purposes, as long as Rice can soak up check-downs, the PPR points will flow.

As Garafolo notes, Bucky Irving said after practice that he thought Egbuka was okay, so this news shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Still, it’s good to have that comment confirmed so quickly. For now, expect Egbuka to miss some time in practice while recovering from the issue. That will free up routes for rookie Tedd Hurst, who has already made a good impression at training camp. Fantasy managers can keep drafting Egbuka as a high-ceiling WR2 until further notice.

Mitchell was a headcase in Indianapolis but got with the program after being traded to New York last year. He closed the season with 301 yards in eight games as a Jet. The team heaped praise on Mitchell throughout the offseason and he has seemingly ridden that momentum into camp. Mitchell’s spike games will be hard to pin down, but he should at least provide Best Ball drafters with some usable weeks.

Stefanski said the starters will get a series or about 10 plays, depending on what happens first. He declined to name a Week 1 starter. Michael Penix has not participated in team drills yet and Stefanski confirmed that he would not do so in joint practices with the Colts next week. The lack of practice reps likely means Penix is slated for backup duties to open the year, even if Stefanski isn’t willing to make that call just yet.

Coming off a serious leg injury that ended his 2025 season in November, Skattebo has fared well in offseason practices and training camp, claiming he’s fully healed from his leg break. For now he’s listed as a co-RB1 alongside Tracy, who was up and down as the Giants’ lead back last season after Skattebo went down to injury. Devin Singletary listed as the lone RB2 likely means Tracy would get first crack at lead back duties if Skattebo misses any time in 2026. Tracy will be worth rostering in most 12-team formats.

It looks like Canales wants to see Brooks — who missed 2025 with a knee injury — in live game action during Carolina’s second preseason game. Hubbard is expected to mix in as well. Neither running back is likely to see more than a handful of touches against Buffalo. Brooks has impressed during training camp, with no restrictions coming off the serious knee injury.

Egbuka reportedly limped off the practice field Wednesday with the help of Bucs trainers and was examined on the sideline for a while before watching the rest of practice with his cleats off. Though the Bucs are likely being cautious with the second-year stud receiver, Egbuka’s status will be well worth monitoring in the coming days. An Egbuka absence would open up an opportunity for WR Ted Hurst, who has impressed throughout the offseason.

LaPorta, operating over the middle as a trusted target for Jared Goff, has shown “just how much Detroit missed him the second half of the 2025 season after he suffered a back injury,” Twentyman said. “He’s been terrific throughout the start of camp. In an early practice team period, Goff found LaPorta down the left seam for a big gain down to the nine-yard-line. The next play was a touchdown pass to LaPorta over the middle. That’s been a common occurrence all through camp.” LaPorta managed just 40 receptions in 2025 while missing eight games with a lingering back issue that required surgery in November. He set career marks last year in receiving success rate (69 percent) and yards per catch (12.2). LaPorta was targeted on 21 percent of his routes, the second highest mark on the team.