NFL Player News

With Doyle defenseless over the middle of the field, Burfict blatantly led with his helmet into Doyle’s head. Frankly, it should be Burfict’s final down of NFL football. His presence on the field is an ongoing safety hazard. He’s had enough second chances.

The hamstring is the latest in a string of injury issues for the 2023 second-rounder. He also had a foot injury prior to the 2023 season and underwent shoulder surgery earlier this offseason. Schoonmaker will need to nurse the hamstring throughout the offseason to be ready, but he will already be behind Jake Ferguson on the Cowboys’ tight end depth chart to enter the season.

ESPN’s Brady Henderson relayed Smith’s sentiments on learning the offense. Smith said “I feel like I’m a dropback passer and I feel like this is a dropback offense...” New offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb came over from the same position with the University of Washington where he was also quarterbacks coach to Michael Penix. Smith is entering his third season with the Seahawks and has had a semi-rejuvenation for his career in Seattle. Grubb’s offense under new head coach Mike Macdonald will be a change of pace from the previous regime under Pete Carroll. Sam Howell is the backup for now with Smith under contract for two more seasons.

The news isn’t a surprise as Mitchell suffered a torn ACL in Week 15 last year. Harbaugh noted that the Ravens are still optimistic about Mitchell returning at some point during the season. Mitchell was an explosive change-of-pace option but doesn’t have the size to shoulder the load. The Ravens brought in Derrick Henry for that role this offseason. Mitchell could return midseason and post FLEX-worthy fantasy numbers, but he’s a hard player to stash without an IR spot.

Per Steichen, the two players bumped knees in practice. Pittman went down hard and walked off the field with trainers in the middle of the session. Steichen didn’t seem overly concerned after practice, so we’ll assume this isn’t an issue for Pittman until further notice. Pittman is coming off a breakout season with Gardner Minshew under center for most of the year and is now attempting to run it back with Anthony Richarson as his primary passer. Richardson’s rushing output will depress the target volume for Pittman, keeping him in the middle of the WR2 range for early drafters.

Voluntary OTAs are underway for the Chiefs but Worthy was forced to sit out of Wednesday’s session because of the hamstring injury. The injury is minor, though it’s not great for the rookie to miss any time as he attempts to pick up the Cheifs’ complex playbook. For now, this news shouldn’t change fantasy drafters’ opinions of Worthy. It will only be a problem if the injury causes him to miss additional practices after OTAs.

“It’s not just hearsay for him, he works at it, whether he’s with us or on his own time. It’s obvious that he works at it and we’re appreciative of that,” Tolzien said after Tuesday’s OTAs. Lance, 24, who was acquired by Dallas last season in exchange for a fourth round draft pick, is expected to see plenty of action in the preseason while Dak Prescott sits. After mostly serving as the Cowboys’ emergency QB3 in 2023, Lance could be Prescott’s direct backup in 2024. His rushing potential could make Lance interesting for fantasy purposes if Prescott misses any time this season.

Robinson has not participated in Falcons OTAs this week while recovering from an ankle injury. “I’m hoping — really, really positive about it as well, too — veteran minicamp, we’ll get a chance to see something, some movements, things of that nature,” Morris said Tuesday. “But he’s progressing well. He’s been out there. He’s in great spirits.” Coming off a rookie campaign with nearly 1,500 total yards and eight touchdowns, Robinson should function as the centerpiece of Atlanta’s offense in 2024.

Justin Herbert, per Popper, is “developing a connection” with McConkey, the second-round rookie wideout out of Georgia, where he ran 31 percent of his pass routes from the slot over three seasons. The smallish McConkey profiles as a traditional slot guy in the NFL, and should take on that role in the LA offense while Josh Palmer and Quentin Johnston operate on the outside. If McConkey is strictly a slot receiver in 2024, his snaps and routes could be somewhat limited in the run-first Chargers offense. Rotoworld’s Denny Carter recently wrote about McConkey’s target-earning profile at Georgia.

This is only notable because Watson had offseason surgery to repair his right throwing shoulder. The team released video of Watson throwing during Tuesday’s OTA session, which was not open to the media. Watson, 29, said his doctors encouraged him to be conservative with how much he uses the shoulder in offseason practices. “I feel really good, very confident in myself and the process, how it’s going,” Watson said in April. “The shoulder has been really well, so just making sure that I don’t do anything extra that’s going to harm it or anything like that. I think that’s the biggest thing.” Watson has said he’s not sure when he’ll be deemed fully recovered from last year’s injury. If Watson misses any time in 2024, Jameis Winston will likely start for the Browns.

Shanahan emphasized that attendance at the spring practices were voluntary, and that he trusts McCaffrey’s offseason work ethic. McCaffrey’s absence is a bit surprising considering he attended and practiced in full at every OTA session during the 2023 offseason. CMC, 28, is signed through the 2025 season before a void year in 2026. The 2023 NFL rushing champ and the lynchpin of the Niners offense is slated to make $14.1 million this year.