NFL Player News

Smith was released by the Saints earlier this week after being placed on injured reserve with a groin injury. Unsurprisingly, he is visiting a Broncos team coached by Sean Payton, who Smith played for from 2018-2021. If Denver signs him, Smith will join a lackluster team that needs an offensive boost, though his injury will keep him low on the fantasy radar.

Bernard started alongside other Steelers backups this evening, indicating he has not yet earned a starting role in three-wide receiver sets. That said, he looked good. Bernard found the end zone via a screen pass on the Steelers’ second drive, shaking a defender immediately after the catch before muscling past another as he crossed the plane. He nearly scored again on the following drive, but QB Will Howard overthrew him in the end zone. The Steelers’ top-two WRs, DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman, are just getting over injuries, and No. 3 WR Roman Wilson should not be considered insurmountable in-house competition. Bernard could work his way into the lineup early in the year.

Washington could end up returning standalone FLEX value this season. He looks good. The fourth-round rookie does not go down easily, regularly powering through first contact, and he possesses the requisite speed to get to the edge and turn upfield quickly. He took a hard hit to the left side of his body while jumping for a pass, but showed no ill effects from it. With RB1 Ashton Jeanty (ankle) rehabbing, there is a chance Washington gets the start in Week 1 against the rebuilding Dolphins. Washington could warrant a top-15 positional ranking in this case. Target him in drafts.

LaPorta’s hip issue no longer appears to be a concern. The 25-year-old has continued practicing as the week progresses. He was out there catching passes from QB Jared Goff during Friday’s scrimmage. LaPorta is a locked-in TE1, playing in what should be one of the NFL’s highest-scoring offenses this season.

This is unfortunate. Turner missed the 2025 season with a ribs injury. Now, a back injury ends his season prematurely. The Lions correspondingly signed CB Eric Scott.

Daniels adds that third-round rookie TE Eli Raridon “looks the part,” but he believes Henry is “by far the team’s best tight end and once again will be a security blanket” for QB Drake Maye. Henry posted a 6/768/7 receiving line in 2025 and a 66/674/ receiving line in 2024. A similar stat line this year would be unsurprising.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid and QB Patrick Mahomes believe last season’s run game failed to make defenses respect their play-action run fakes. With Walker now on board, the Chiefs believe both the run game and play-action game will improve. The staff has catered to Walker by installing more plays from under center, which Walker prefers to shotgun. “One way Walker can help transform the offense,” per Taylor, “is by becoming a true dual-threat player.” Reid believes Walker’s “receiving skills and ability to make defenders miss” will allow Reid to incorporate “one of his favorite passing concepts: the variety of plays where a play-action fake to the running back is executed before a short screen pass is thrown back to the same running back.” Walker should be expected to handle a high-end, dual-threat workload. He is a locked-in RB1 with immense upside.

According to Price, a league source indicated Henderson “avoided a serious right ankle injury when he slipped on the turf at practice earlier in the week.” Henderson is still trying to unseat RB Rhamondre Stevenson as the team’s starter and will likely continue competing for the gig in-season. Henderson, 23, possesses intriguing, explosive dual-threat traits. Drafting him may require patience early on, but the payoff could be worth it.

The Steelers’ front office spent a third-round pick on Johnson in the 2025 NFL Draft. He has drastically underperformed since then, and could probably do with a change of scenery. DeFabo also thinks that RB/WR Eli Heidenreich “is a good candidate for the practice squad.”

Schefter notes that Porter remains on the physically unable to perform list with a back injury, yet adds that “backs are often confused with contract-itis.” He stopped short of saying that Porter is on the trade block, but reminded Pat McAfee Show viewers that the NFL’s cut-down deadline is this weekend, and that “a lot of trades” occur around this time of year. Stay tuned.

Gonzalez employs the same agent as Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon, who recently reset the positional market at $33 million per year. According to Schefter, the Patriots have never come close to that number. The Patriots exercised Gonzalez’s fifth-year option in April, so Gonzalez has two seasons remaining on his contract. Schefter believes that if the two sides fail to agree on a new deal early in the year, it “opens up a whole range of options” next offseason, like a potential trade.