NFL Player News

Murray was a bit of an afterthought on Sunday with James Cook playing at a high level and the Bills continuing to use Ty Johnson as a speed back. Yet, Murray was involved in the wildest play of the game. After evading pressure and backpedaling towards the sideline, Josh Allen somehow found Murray running up the sideline for an improbable first down. Yet, after taking three steps, the ball simply slipped out of Murray’s hands and squirted towards the sideline out of bounds. Murray remains part of the back-up committee behind Cook and the main short-yardage back, but with Josh Allen running more again, that role is increasingly less valuable.

That would mean Thomas is set to play on the outside at the line of scrimmage. Parker Washington will presumably play in the slot with Jakobi Meyers and Travis Hunter fighting for flanker duties. As Wolfe notes, Liam Coen learned last year that going over the middle of the field and taking hits isn’t BTJ’s thing. Instead, he will likely be tasked with winning deep and beating man coverage. Wolfe noted Liam Coen’s roots in the Rams’ offense and compared BTJ’s role to that of Brandin Cooks and Sammy Watkins when they played in LA. Cooks topped 1,200 receiving yards in his first season with the Rams but fell below 600 in his second and final season with the team. Watkins, meanwhile, played just one season in LA and was also held under 600 yards. All signs point to Washington being the team’s No. 1 receiver this year.

Reid alluded to this decision last week and is only making it official now. Mahomes is, by all accounts, fully recovered from the torn ACL he suffered last year. He was reportedly ahead of schedule throughout the offseason and is now scrambling around at training camp as if nothing happened. Whether or not he plays in the preseason shouldn’t affect his fantasy outlook. Even if he runs less this year, an improved ground game and a change at offensive coordinator should keep Mahomes in the QB1 ranks.

Canales told reporters that Hubbard is expected to be ready for Week 1, but the team will “be smart about it.” Jonathon Brooks will make his preseason debut this weekend and has already turned heads in the opening weeks of training camp. Hubbard’s absence will give him an even cleaner path to touches early in the year. Brooks is currently going as the RB30 in Best Ball drafts and has already flipped Hubbard. His ADP is all but guaranteed to reach the stratosphere after this news.

Roberts played with the Steelers from 2023-2024, starting 29 games and tallying 147 combined tackles with 3.5 sacks in that span. The 31-year-old started 16 games for the Raiders last season and now returns to Pittsburgh to be a veteran presence in the middle of the defense. With Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson the listed starters at linebacker, Roberts will need to compete for snaps to stick on the Steelers roster this season.

Waller returned from retirement to play in nine games for the Dolphins last season. He hauled in 24-of-34 targets for 283 and six touchdowns before a groin injury ended his season prior to Week 18. The 33-year-old has a chance at being a red zone target for the Panthers, who previously had Tommy Tremble, Mitchell Evans, and Ja’Tavion Sanders listed at tight end. Waller brings veteran experience as a late add who should get enough usage to make him an option as a low-end TE2 for fantasy purposes.

The Seahawks held a walkthrough on Wednesday and Price was on the practice field for the first time in five practices. The News Tribune’s Gregg Bell reports he was walking through with the starting offense. Good news for fantasy managers as Price’s injury looks to still be soreness and nothing more. It is just a walkthrough practice, but fantasy managers shouldn’t expect this soreness management to impact his Week 1 status.

Thompson signed with the Ravens in the offseason but dealt with an undisclosed injury in training camp. He heads to injured reserve, likely ending his season; he and the team may reach an injury settlement in the coming days. The Ravens signed former UFL quarterback Austin Reed in his place. Reed figures to get some game time during preseason as the team’s fourth-string quarterback.

With the Vikings naming Kyler Murray as the starter, McCarthy’s future in Minnesota is in question. The 23-year-old is entering his third season and still has plenty to work on, though losing the Week 1 starting job indicates his chances to start for the Vikings again are dwindling. When asked about his future, McCarthy stated he wants to be in Minnesota and will “continue to just do whatever [he] can for this team and this organization.” The room for error for young quarterbacks is thin in the NFL and though he is saying the right things to the media, McCarthy is a former first-rounder that may want to move on, should he have no future as a starter with the Vikings. He will start the season as the backup while the Vikings evaluate their quarterback room throughout the season; it wouldn’t be a surprise to see McCarthy depart Minnesota between now and this time next year.

Per Schefter, Todd Monken informed the quarterbacks this afternoon that Watson will get the first preseason start and Shedeur Sanders will draw the second. He will face Buffalo. We don’t want to read too much into the order of the starts, but it’s at least somewhat notable that Watson is first in line. The next two preseason games will likely determine Cleveland’s Week 1 starter. Neither option will do the Browns’ pass-catchers any favors for fantasy purposes.

The 49ers cut Apple a week ago but are bringing him back a day before their preseason opener. He will be a depth option for the team versus the Titans on Thursday.