NFL Player News

Burgess doesn’t seem too concerned that he’s the NFL’s most underpaid player at his position. He’s attended mandatory work and is staying in shape.

In a video from Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, Judkins appears to be moving quite well for a player recovering from a fractured fibula and a broken ankle. He suffered the injuries in Week 16 of his rookie season and was expected to miss 4-5 months. A mid-May return puts him on the early end of that timeline. Barring a surprise, Judkins should be full-go for the start of training camp. He was on pace for over 1,000 yards from scrimmage before missing the final two games of 2025. Fantasy managers can treat him as a volume-based RB2 in early drafts.

Harvey is among the Jaguars beats who appear deeply skeptical of a recent report about the team trading BTJ for A.J. Brown in the coming weeks. Brown, long unhappy with his usage in the Eagles offense, remains a favorite to land with New England this summer. “Why would the Jags trade for a player who wants to always be targeted when their offense does not have a No. 1 WR by design?” Harvey said, referring to the mercurial Brown. “And they’re loading up to deploy more tight ends and Parker Washington is set for an extension and they just gave Jakobi Meyers one and they aren’t trading BTJ.” After going for nearly 1,300 yards and ten touchdowns as a rookie in 2024, Thomas fell off big time in 2025, finishing the season with 707 yards and two scores and operating as the third or fourth option in the Jags’ pass-catching pecking order. It would be a stunner if the Jaguars were to give up on Thomas, 23, after one down year.

It might not mean much for the forgotten man in the Browns quarterback room this offseason. Deshaun Watson continues to operate as the team’s starter in offseason practices. Shedeur Sanders is expected to compete for the starting gig, though he’s expected to be an underdog to begin the regular season under center for a revamped Cleveland offense. Head coach Todd Monken appears enamored with Watson, who has played in 19 regular season games since 2021. Gabriel had the NFL’s lowest EPA per drop back in 2025, just ahead of Sanders. The Browns have insisted they would not trade Gabriel this offseason.

“It sounds like we’re not going to be throwing the ball a lot,” Dart said during a recent town hall with Giants fans and reporters when asked about how New York’s offense might look under new OC Matt Nagy. “We’re going to keep giving it to [Cam Skattebo] until they can stop it.” Skattebo said during the town hall that he was still learning to trust his surgically repaired ankle. He pledged to be ready to go for Week 1. If he’s not fully healthy for the season opener, look for Tyrone Tracy and perhaps Devin Singletary to take on bigger workloads.

Coleman, the 109th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, will likely start as RB3 on the Denver’s depth chart to begin training camp. JK Dobbins and RJ Harvey are widely expected to split the team’s backfield workload, as they did for much of the 2025 season before Dobbins’ season-ending ankle injury. Broncos head coach Sean Payton said in late April that Coleman “can play on third downs.” Coleman, who produced 71 percent of his rushing yardage after contact at Washington, could secure a reliable role in the Denver backfield if Dobbins or Harvey miss time in 2026.

Howard is set to compete with veteran Mason Rudolph for backup duties to begin the season. Rudolph and Howard were splitting reps in the team’s offseason program last month. NFL Network reported in January that Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy “likes Will Howard a lot” and sees potential in his offensive system. “I’m not saying the Steelers believe Will Howard will be the quarterback for ten years after Aaron Rodgers is gone,” Breer said. “But I do think Mike McCarthy sees a little something there and wanted to take a closer look.” Howard, going into his age-25 season, threw for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions during his final collegiate season at Ohio State in 2024. He ranked fourth among all CFB quarterbacks in adjusted yards per attempt that season.

This of course has to do with Rashee Rice failing a drug test and undergoing another knee procedure and missing up to two months. Rice this week violated his probation by testing positive for THC and will serve 30 days in jail. He’s slated to be out of jail by the middle of June. This is just the latest in a long time of off-the-field issues that have kept Rice away from the team. There’s also the matter of Rice’s health, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Tuesday that the KC wideout will be sidelined for upwards of two months after undergoing a clean-up procedure on his right knee. The Chiefs, Breer said, believed Rice can be a top-10 NFL receiver when healthy, but are skeptical as to whether they can trust Rice to stay out of legal trouble and stay healthy. Rice’s legal woes and injury history could force Kansas City to reconsider an offer for Brown, who is widely expected to be dealt by the Eagles after June 1. The Patriots and Jaguars have also been mentioned as potential suitors for Brown. “I don’t believe that happens,” Breer said of Brown landing in Kansas City. “But I think if you’re the Chiefs you have to take a look at all of these things going forward.”

Odegard corroborates a report by Arizona sports radio host John Gambadoro that Sweat’s absence from Cardinals OTAs is not injury-related. The 29-year-old pass rusher signed a four-year, $76.4 million contract with Arizona last offseason and will enter the second year of this deal in 2026. Sweat tallied a career-high 12.0 sacks in 17 games for the Cardinals last season, adding four forced fumbles. With edge rushers seemingly re-setting the market with every new contract, Sweat is now outside the top-20 EDGE contracts in average annual salary. It is unclear if Sweat’s absence is fully due to a contract dispute or if there are other factors involved, but the veteran edge rusher is absent from Cardinals organized team activities for now.

Rice’s off-the-field issues once again will coincide with a knee issue. Schefter reports Rice underwent a clean-up procedure to remove “loose debris” in his right knee one week prior to being ordered to serve 30 days in jail due to violating probation. The 26-year-old is expected to be sidelined two months due to the procedure. He will miss much of the Chiefs offseason program but would be ready to return for training camp, as long as legal issues do not keep him off the field. The Chiefs have a sparse receiving room behind Rice and would have Xavier Worthy and Tyquan Thornton as their top two wide receivers without Rice. Pending Rice’s recovery, the Chiefs may look to add a pass-catcher or two for depth heading into training camp.

Jackson has not always attended voluntary portions of the Ravens’ offseason program in years past, but did attend voluntary minicamp in April. The Ravens have been hoping to reach a new contract extension with the 29-year-old before the start of the season, though a deal is yet to emerge. New head coach Jesse Minter said, “we’ve had some great conversations; know when he’s going to be back.” Jackson seems to still be in good standing with the team and looks to be more involved with voluntary workouts under a new head coach. He has yet to arrive at OTAs, but Minter’s words demonstrate little concern just yet.