NFL Player News

Clark (5’10/181) was lightly recruited but landed a late offer to Liberty where he started seven games as a true freshman before transferring to Louisville. He immediately became a fixture in the Cardinals’ secondary, earning three-consecutive seasons of All-ACC status. He was most effective in his first two UL campaigns, earning a solid 72.0 PFF coverage grade in that span with 23 PBU and four interceptions as a primary outside corner. In 2022 he transitioned part-time to the slot, where he logged 252 of his 711 snaps. He was clearly uncomfortable having never played inside before, and it dragged his performance down as is evidenced by his woeful 58.5 PFF coverage grade and nine penalties. Despite difficulty transitioning to the slot, Clark boosted his draft value with a lock-down performance at the Shrine Bowl and 89th percentile 4.42s 40-yard dash. He’s at his best in zone coverage where he can take a piece of the field and police it, but his diminutive stature is going to make life tough on the outside against bigger NFL wideouts. How Clark handles the slot corner position at the NFL will determine how successful he will be as a pro.

With Caleb Williams (hamstring) not expected to play in Week 3’s Monday Night Football showdown against the Eagles, Bagent’s status holds extra weight this week. He missed practice through Friday with a concussion, but has since cleared the protocol. Despite the circumstances, he still feels like a better option than Case Keenum at this point. Bagent would only be a desperation play in super-flex leagues against the Eagles.

Lions HC Dan Campbell didn’t sound optimistic about the prospects of Joseph, who is dealing with a potentially career-threatening knee cartilage issue, helping the Lions this year. In two separate media appearances in the last week, Campbell said that there wasn’t anything he could say about Joseph that would make anyone “feel good.” Pelissero reported Saturday morning that Joseph, who missed all of training camp and hasn’t played since last year’s Week 6 loss to the Chiefs, is hopeful he’ll be available to help the Lions down the stretch. While that may be the case, whether Joseph is able to return to play this year remains an open question. Without Joseph and S Brian Branch (Achilles), the Lions are severely shorthanded in the backend heading into Week 3’s home matchup against the Jets.

According to Pelissero, Giants GM Joe Schoen is “working the phones” and a trade could be done as soon as Monday. The Giants gave Dart’s backup Jameis Winston a two-year contract extension just before the start of the regular season. While the Giants are looking to add to their quarterback depth, it seems unlikely that whoever they acquire at this point would be able to unseat Winston as the starter immediately. New York takes on Tennessee in Week 3 at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

Flowers missed Week 2’s loss to the Saints with a hamstring injury after catching five passes for 150 yards and a touchdown in the Week 1 victory over the Colts. Rashod Bateman stepped up as the Ravens’ leading receiver with Flowers out in Week 2. That would likely be the case again if Flowers is held out. As Fowler reports, Flowers would likely be on a snap count if he’s active against the Cowboys in Week 3, which would seem to muddy things for both his and Bateman’s fantasy prospects against the Cowboys. Baltimore takes on Dallas Sunday afternoon at Maracaná Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Lions LG Christian Mahogany (hip) will also make his return after a week-long absence, and RG Tate Ratledge (elbow) is good to go after two limited sessions early in the week. The Lions’ starting offensive line’s health is improving. Backup OG Ben Bartch (foot) has been ruled out.

The Chiefs kept Jones limited in all three practices this week, so this injury isn’t totally behind him yet. Regardless, he should have a productive day against the Dolphins’ offense this week.

Rapoport made the statement, and then immediately referenced 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan’s comments earlier this week, when he said Evans had a “good” chance to play this week, so it is unclear if Rapoport is actually breaking news. That said, no news is good news. If the NFL Network star had learned something contradictory, we would have heard about it. Evans returned to practice in a limited capacity today. Stay tuned for updates and treat him as a WR2 for the time being.

Frankly, this report comes off as more of a recap than breaking news. The Commanders do not yet know when Daniels will return, though they are optimistic that he will miss fewer than four games. According to Rapoport, the goal is to get him back “as soon as possible” and “as safe as possible.” Backup QB
Marcus Mariota

will start in his stead.

Dallas and starting RB Aaron Jones (knee) both practiced in full on Friday. Jones will handle the majority of the backfield’s touches while Dallas takes a few carries and plays some on passing downs.

Bosa strained his calf while going through his pre-practice warm-up routine on Thursday. The team has not yet identified Bosa’s expected return timeline, but the 49ers’ pass rusher will be out for some time. The 49ers also ruled out EDGE Romello Height (hand) for Week 3 against the Cardinals as well.