NFL Player News

The Steelers were widely expected to part ways with their offensive coordinator before winning their final four games of the season and just barely missing out on the playoffs. Kaboly says that Tomlin has not even finished conducting exit meetings with all of his players yet. It would be a big fantasy boost for George Pickens and company if the Steelers parted ways with Canada, but at this point it seems like that is more a theory than an actuality.

This explains the team’s decision to go out and trade for Zamir White on Sunday. Chandler, who was competing for a roster spot in camp, has rushed for 710 yards and three touchdowns in his four-year career and returned a kick for 86 yards in the Saints’ first preseason game against the Jaguars.

Penix was recently cleared for 11-on-11 practice and will participate in 11-on-11s on Monday. The third-year signal-caller has been working his way back from a torn ACL he suffered in November and will now have a few weeks to compete with Tagovailoa for the starting job. While it seems highly unlikely that Penix would win the QB1 job to start the season after being limited for most of camp, Tagovailoa hasn’t had the strongest of camps. Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show earlier, Adam Schefter said Tagovailoa “hasn’t run away” with the competition, suggesting a path could be open for Penix to win the job. We’ll see how these next few weeks unfold, but it’s possible the Falcons will delay naming a QB1 until it’s time to begin preparing for Week 1’s game against the Steelers.

Nabers continues to trend toward playing in Week 1 against the Cowboys, provided he avoids any setbacks. The star receiver officially shed his non-contact jersey on Monday and participated in a limited capacity in 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. Raanan said Nabers participated in three reps for both drills and “made a really nice catch when he went down and plucked a pass off the turf.” Speaking after Monday’s practice, head coach John Harbaugh said it would be “reasonable to assume” Nabers will play in Week 1 barring any setbacks. Nabers projects as a low-end WR1 in fantasy this season with the upside for top-five production once he’s back to full strength.

Brown is a 10-year veteran of the league who signed with the Raiders earlier this offseason. Injuries limited him to just four games last season, but Brown has been a serviceable receiver who has totaled 450-plus yards in three of his last four seasons. It’s possible he could catch on with another team as an added depth piece, but we wouldn’t expect Brown to pop up as a starter any time soon.

Pittman and fellow receiver DK Metcalf both returned to practice on Monday after being sidelined since August 8th due to undisclosed injuries. Both players expect to be ready to go for Week 1’s game against the Falcons in a few weeks, and Monday’s return suggests they’re will on track to playing when the games officially count.

Metcalf hasn’t practiced since suffering an undisclosed injury on August 8th, but the veteran receiver said last week that he expects to be ready for Week 1 against the Falcons. The Steelers saw several key players return to Monday’s practice, along with WR Michael Pittman, who had also been sidelined with an undisclosed injury since August 8th.

The Patriots also received a 2028 seventh-round pick in the deal. While Boutte gets a chance to earn a role with the Texans following the loss of Jayden Higgins, Reed will likely serve as added depth for the Patriots secondary. Reed appeared in seven games last year as a rookie while making one start, with most of his snaps coming on special teams.

The Ringer’s Tom Pelissero was the first to report the transaction. Boutte now gets a fresh start in Houston after being phased out of the Patriots’ offense following the additions of Romeo Doubs and A.J. Brown this offseason. The 24-year-old receiver is in the final year of his rookie contract and has a chance to step into an immediate role for the Texans after they lost Jayden Higgins to a torn ACL last week. Boutte totaled 33 receptions for 551 yards and six touchdowns last season and has averaged 15.0 YPR in his last two seasons. He’s been used primarily as a field stretcher by the Patriots and will likely see a similar role in Houston, which could make meaningful fantasy production hard to come by.

Glenn said the same last week, so it’s good to know plans haven’t changed. That said, the rookie tight end has been sidelined since early August after suffering a setback in his recovery from offseason hernia surgery, so it’s hard to imagine him having much of an impact in Week 1, even if active. We’ll continue to get updates on Sadiq until he’s back on the field, but at least he appears to be on track to meet Glenn’s return timeline. In addition to Sadiq, Glenn said he also expects CB D’Angelo Ponds (calf) to return for Week 1.

Lemon returned to practice last week and was seen running with the first-team offense on Monday. Speaking with the media after Monday’s practice, Lemon confirmed that the hamstring injury he had been dealing with was in the same leg that had given him problems earlier this offseason. He’s missed a lot of time, but the rookie first-rounder has just under three weeks to get up to speed and be ready for the season opener, so we’ll see if he can get there. Lemon is worth a late-round pick in fantasy drafts, but shouldn’t be put in lineups until we see how he’s used in game situations.