NFL Player News

The Ravens’ leading special teams tackler, McClellan also filled in at inside linebacker for one late-season start. McClellan will be the underdog going into camp, as Harbaugh expects Kruger to “rise to the occasion and have a heck of a year.” Sergio Kindle wasn’t mentioned as a candidate for the job.

It was reported Sunday night that Lane was likely to miss several weeks, but on Monday, Minter said Lane could be out a bit longer than expected. The rookie third-rounder caught 1-of-3 targets for 11 yards in his pro debut but was seeing a good amount of work before exiting. Lane’s 24 first-half snaps were the second-most of any Ravens receiver. We’ll likely have a better sense of how long Lane will be sidelined in the coming days.

According to Rapoport, Pacheco “had surgery to remove a body that was pressing on a nerve in his back.” The 27-year-old back is looking at a 12-week recovery, but if all goes well, he could return for the final month of the season. If the Lions don’t add anybody to their backfield in the coming days/weeks, Sione Vaki and Jacob Saylors will continue to serve as the primary backups behind Jahmyr Gibbs.

Taylor-Britt is eligible to play in the Colts’ Week 2 game against the Chiefs after serving his one-game suspension in Week 1 against the Ravens. The 26-year-old corner signed a one-year deal with the Colts earlier this offseason and started two of the eight games he appeared in last season with the Bengals. Taylor-Britt totaled 21 tackles and five breakups for the Bengals last season and has spent three seasons in defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s scheme during their time with the Bengals, which could give him a chance to see meaningful work on game days.

The superstar 29-year-old guard missed the final nine snaps of the game after suffering the brain injury. It would not be surprising if he missed Week 2, though that is by no means a sure thing at this point.

Harbaugh also declined to say whether he expected McConkey to play in Week 2 against the Raiders, instead saying the team wants to see how he feels over the course of the week. The Chargers will release their first injury report of the week on Wednesday, but if McConkey can log a few limited practices before the weekend, he should have a shot to suit up on game day.

We’ll have a better idea of if Johnson can go for Week 2 on Tuesday — when the Bills will run an actual practice. Johnson didn’t return to practice until the Friday ahead of Week 1 as he’s nursed this hamstring injury throughout most of training camp. If he does go, he’ll step in as Buffalo’s third-down back. The Bills mostly used Frank Gore Jr. there in the second half during Week 1’s win.

It’s Week 2 and we legitimately have no idea what to believe about Brock Bowers’ health. We’ll be monitoring the practices, of course. Adam Schefter reported that the Raiders believe there’s a “realistic chance” that Bowers will only miss one game after a meniscus trim. We’ll see how it goes. Michael Mayer’s newfound fantasy value, as well as Ashton Jeanty’s pass-catching prowess, are likely tied to what the answer is as well as the Raiders prepare for the Chargers.

McCarthy said he expects Porter to play once his ramp-up period ends, as he works to return from a back injury that sidelined him for much of training camp. It’s been widely speculated that Porter’s absence has more to do with his contract situation rather than an injury, but McCarthy is talking like a coach who is working to get an injured player back on the field. Porter did practice in a limited capacity all of last week, so we’ll see if he can get upgraded to a full participant sometime this week and have a chance to see the field in Week 2 against the Patriots.

But, Rapoport added, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll play this week. “Generally, for a throwing position, it’s not usually one week,” Rapoport added. Cooper Rush could be awaiting the Panthers in Week 2, and based on how Rush played in Week 1, that means the Panthers defense could go from allowing 59 points to being a streamable defense in Week 2.

It sounds like Penix isn’t comfortable just yet on his knee, but it should be sooner rather than later, and the original time frame here was Week 2 or 3. The plan will definitely be to start Penix when he is healthy. Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski offered zero help on the situation on Monday; we’ll probably get a better update from the Falcons on Wednesday. It’s worth noting that Penix did practice in full all last week, but this may be more of a mental hurdle than a physical one.