NFL Player News

Chiefs gave Buechele (6'0/210) a $15,000 signing bonus and $160,000 guaranteed in base salary as multiple teams scrapped for his services the moment the draft ended. He was initially run out of Texas by Colts QB Sam Ehlinger but proved to be plenty capable as a passer at SMU, tossing a whopping 57 touchdown passes over those two seasons. Though his arm strength is uninspiring, Buechele has a knack for moving in and out of the pocket, as well as finding some interesting throws from uncomfortable platforms. Somewhere along the Austin Davis to Case Keenum spectrum is a fair expectation for him in the league as he learns behind Patrick Mahomes.

The $10.965 million contract is fully guaranteed, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Burden missed spring practices due to a soft tissue injury suffered in late May. Earlier this month, head coach Ben Johnson told reporters that Burden would be ready at the start of training camp. Rookies are scheduled to report tomorrow to the team’s facility.

The 49ers continue to be extra cautious with their No. 1 wide receiver, whose expected return-to-play date falls in the Weeks 5-6 range. A recent beat report suggested Aiyuk is ahead of schedule and has a chance to suit up for Week 1, though this outcome should be considered somewhat unlikely at this time. The 49ers also placed OL Andre Dillard, DE Yetur Gross-Matos, S Malik Mustapha and LB Curtis Robinson on the active/PUP list while OT Ben Bartch and S George Odum landed on the active/non-football injury list.

Pearsall “tweaked” his hamstring on May 29th. On June 10th, head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that he expected Pearsall to be ready for training camp, but updates have been scarce since then. Hopefully, Pearsall is removed from the active/PUP list before long. He notably suffered a hamstring strain in mid-July last year, which bothered him for nearly two weeks.

ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Kalyn Kahler continue their reporting on Howell’s professional behaviors with a new story detailing Howell’s visits to what can generously be described as gentlemen’s clubs. Per the report, “a young union finance worker” noticed an exorbitant cost among Howell’s expenses, which prompted further investigation. Howell is said to have made multiple late-night visits to these businesses, including one trip in which Howell was “accompanied [by] two union employees.” Howell filed the visit under “Player Engagement Event to support & grow our Union.” Van Natta and Kahler add that “a former union employee said that there are no specific exclusions for venues,” but the individual reasonably concludes, “I don’t think anyone in their right mind would think that is an optically good scenario.” No players are currently known to have been involved in Howell’s activities.

Pelissero says Hendrickson wants a multi-year extension, and specifically does not want to have to revisit this issue next season. The Bengals “have not moved” meaningfully from their position, and apparently prefer to address Hendrickson’s contract one year at a time. Pelissero closes by saying, “eventually someone has to blink” and he does not anticipate it being Hendrickson.

Arroyo’s deal includes $6.872 million in guaranteed money. The former Miami Hurricane, who caught 35 passes for 590 yards and seven touchdowns last season, is expected to slot in behind Noah Fant in his rookie campaign, but could carve out an early role as an inline/slot tight end in 12 personnel groupings. It’s hard to imagine Arroyo having any kind of weekly fantasy upside in 2025, but he’s a player worth waiting on in dynasty formats.

It’s quite the indictment for the fifth-round rookie, who figured to be in a camp battle with Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders for the Cowboys’ RB1 role this summer. In an article published by Marcus Mosher, Mosher points out that there have been no reports of Blue working with the first team offense during OTAs or minicamp, which could be explained by this recent quote from Smith. Blue slipped to the fifth round of this year’s draft after rushing for 134-730-8 last season with the Longhorns. He’s a versatile back with a three-down skillset that would make him an intriguing fantasy option should he earn a significant role, but this story will be one to monitor once training camp officially opens for the Cowboys next week.

Wilkins continues to recover from a foot surgery that ended his 2024 campaign. It was reported in May by Raiders beat writer Vincent Bonsignore that the team hopes Wilkins will be able to return by August, and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports Wilkins has made “sound progress” in his recovery. Wilkins will be eligible to come off the PUP list whenever the team deems he is ready to do so. After signing a four-year, $110 million contract with the Raiders last offseason, it’s safe to say the team hopes to get more out of him than the five games he provided last season.

Taylor joins the flurry of second-round picks to sign just ahead of camp and now sets his sights on earning the Jets’ TE1 job in camp. The 21-year-old faces thin competition for the job from veterans Jeremy Ruckert and Stone Smartt and should play a key role as a blocker in what is expected to be a run-heavy offense in 2025. Taylor caught 55 passes for 546 yards and two touchdowns in his final season at LSU, but will likely be limited to TE2 upside as far as fantasy is concerned.

This doesn’t come as a surprise. Judkins is unsigned by the Browns, and the team is reportedly in “no rush” to sign him to his rookie deal as he now works through legal issues that stem from last week’s arrest on domestic battery charges. With no resolution to his legal situation in sight, it’s possible that Judkins’ absence from camp will extend into multiple weeks.