NFL Player News

Nelson’s injury was initially reported to be much less severe. He was expected to miss between two and four weeks. now he’s done for the season and San Francisco is still in desperate need of healthy receivers in training camp. Jalen Hurd (torn ACL), Deebo Samuel (toe), and Brandon Aiyuk (hamstring) are all dealing with injures. San Francisco has brought in Tavon Austin, River Cracraft, and Kevin White in recent weeks to fill their receiver room. They added DE Alex Barrett after placing Nelson on injured reserve.

The 49ers’ quarterback is not a straight-line burner, but he is more agile than he is given credit for. Purdy adds that he won’t constantly be looking for opportunities to run, however, he believes he can help the offense by scrambling for 10-12 yards from time to time. Purdy has racked up 113 carries over the past two NFL seasons, including the playoffs, proving himself an efficient scrambler with a 47.8 percent conversion rate that ranks first among quarterbacks with at least 50 attempts. He’s a borderline QB1/2. Scrambling more often could get him into the weekly low-end QB1 tier.

Rapp spent the last three in Buffalo. He totaled 19 tackles and one quarterback pressure in six games last year. The Broncos correspondingly waived LB Levelle Bailey with an injury designation.

Williams spent Weeks 3-8 on injured reserve with a knee injury last year. He later ruptured an Achilles tendon in Week 16. He totaled three pass breakups, one interception, 37 tackles and three quarterback pressures while active.

Judkins has now missed two practices in a row. Cleveland’s Mary Kay Cabot reported Judkins’ absence yesterday, noting that Monken abruptly ended Tuesday’s practice because the defense was playing with too much physicality. Per Cabot, Judkins was “the object of much of the chippiness” that day. Monken said Judkins’ injury is unrelated, though. The second-year running back suffered a season-ending fibula fracture and ankle dislocation last year. Hopefully, Judkins’ current issue is unrelated. He could return weekly RB2 value this year, though RB Dylan Sampson could keep Judkins stuck in a run-centric role.

The Saints’ backup running back statuses continue to change. Veteran No. 2 RB Alvin Kamara (knee) is expected to be sidelined for at least one month, and RB Audric Estime is now sidelined with an undisclosed injury. Miller and RB Devin Neal (hamstring) both returned this week, though. Beat reporter Jeff Nowak notes that Miller, Neal and RB Ty Chandler were all allowed to rotate in for first-team reps today, as coach Kellen Moore presumably seeks out a viable primary backup for starting RB Travis Etienne. Per Nowak, Miller “looks sharp despite the time missed.” This is worth tracking for short-term bench stash purposes.

Rapoport believes Warren will resume practicing in “a week or so.” He also expects “Warren’s role to grow” in his second NFL season. That makes sense. Warren’s 106 targets trailed only WR Michael Pittman’s 110. Pittman left Indy to join the Steelers this offseason, clearing the way for Warren to be the team’s top target earner. The soft-tissue injury adds some risk to Warren’s profile, but he should still be drafted as a mid-to-high TE1.

Now we know why the Commanders’ receiving back has been absent at practice recently. White reportedly tweaked a hamstring during joint practices with the Dolphins last week. He worked out prior to Friday’s preseason game, but did not play. Garafolo adds that White has “excelled” in new OC David Blough’s offense during OTAs and training camp, though starting RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt has notably been praised for his pass-catching improvements recently.

This is terribly unfortunate. We expect him to be placed on injured reserve soon, and we do not expect him to return until 2027. The Ravens brought in Pinter and C Ethan Pocic, who is coming off a season-ending Achilles tendon rupture, to compete for the starting center role after losing C Tyler Linderbaum in free agency to the Raiders. Pocic, 31, has been a reliable NFL starter since earning a spot on the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2017. He earned a 62.3 PFF pass-blocking grade and a 63.2 PFF run-blocking grade before injuring his Achilles in Week 14 last year.

We try not to go daily with training camp injuries, but Nacua has now missed the Rams’ entire slate of Saints sessions. Coach Sean McVay had previously said he would return this week. That still does not suggest anything other than standard summer caution, but it’s of course worth noting. For now there is no reason to alter course when it comes to selecting Nacua in the first round of fantasy drafts.

Smith will undoubtedly only play a series or two, but it’s confirmation he’s over the “soreness” that held him out last weekend. Smith would have reportedly played through the “injury” during the regular season, so it was never believed to be serious. Any injury is worth noting for a 35-year-old player coming off a rough, rough year, but this one is in the rear-view mirror.