NFL Player News

ESPN’s Dan Graziano wrote after his recent trip to Bengals camp, “Don’t be surprised, though, if tight end Mike Gesicki ends up being the de facto No. 3 receiver.” Gesicki has been an afterthought in offenses for the last three seasons. Fresh off a 2021 campaign in which he totaled 73-780-2, he managed just 32 catches for 362 yards and five touchdowns in his first and only season under Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and had one of the worst years of his career with the Patriots last season. Now, playing in an offense that’s prioritized the pass since Taylor first arrived in 2019, Gesicki has a chance to rebound from two down seasons and re-establish himself as a threat in an offense that’s expected to be amongst the league’s best in 2024.

The civil suit alleges sexual misconduct, assault, and battery and was filed in Houston on Monday. The NFL has no comment on the new lawsuit but is surely tracking its proceedings. The filings claim the misconduct occurred in 2020 while Watson was a member of the Texans.

Toney also took a visit with the Seahawks but ultimately inked a deal with the Browns ahead of Week 2. It is unclear what kind of workload to expect from Toney in Cleveland considering their current depth chart, with the enigmatic receiver likely entering the kick return discussion as well as unique packages on offense. He can safely remain on the waiver wire in fantasy leagues.

Winfield was one of four defensive backs to get inured in Week 1, leaving the team with innumerable question marks on the back end for the immediate future. That’s not exactly the best news with a road matchup with the Lions on tap in Week 2, particularly considering the Week 1 breakout of Jameson Williams.

Williams will be active for Week 1 and is reportedly set to see a normal allotment of snaps, which can’t be said for fellow contract hold-in Brandon Aiyuk. The fact that Williams will return to his normal workload is good news against the vaunted pass rush of the Jets under the big light on Monday Night Football.

The electric rookie receiver missed Week 1 after appearing to suffer a setback with his quadricep. He logged limited sessions on Wednesday and Thursday last week before being downgraded on Friday. It now appears as if the ailment is more serious than initially reported, meaning his professional debut could have to wait another week with the Dolphins on a short week for Week 2.

Nacua will miss a minimum of four games. It means that even in the best-case scenario, Nacua will not return before Week 7 since the Rams’ bye falls in Week 6. It’s a brutal, brutal blow for fantasy managers, one the Rams will tend to with increased DeMarcus Robinson targets and apparently Tyler Johnson snaps. Rookie Jordan Whittington and Tutu Atwell will also be in the mix. That’s reasonably good depth, but everyone knows the true result will be as many targets as Cooper Kupp can handle. TE Colby Parkinson’s arrow is also pointing upward. For Nacua, it’s just the latest issue in an increasingly-lengthy injury history.

It’s just an estimation since the Dolphins did not actually practice ahead of Thursday Night Football. Mostert “played through” the injury on Sunday, but was highly ineffective in doing so. Now he must contend with the adrenaline wearing off on a short week. De’Von Achane (ankle) is also banged up. Jeff Wilson would be Mostert’s replacement on early downs. We ultimately expect Mostert to go, with Achane probably being a little more of a question mark.

As was Raheem Mostert (chest). It’s just an estimation since the Dolphins didn’t actually practice ahead of Thursday Night Football, but it’s obviously not ideal. The one worry with under-sized Achane has been his elevated risk for nicks and bruises. Achane did finish Sunday’s game, and doesn’t seem to be dealing with a high-ankle sprain. It’s just a very quick turnaround. Stay tuned. Jeff Wilson and rookie Jaylen Wright are the next backs up, with Wilson the between-the-tackles fill-in and Wright the change of pace.

Love is expected to miss about three weeks according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, and at least for Week 2 against the Colts it will be Willis under center and not Sean Clifford. Green Bay made the trade for Willis just before the start of the year, and the speedy 25-year-old will have one of the better group of weapons to throw the football to. Willis also hasn’t shown in the preseason and his limited action in actual games that he may not be the guy to get those players the football. The ability to run makes Willis interesting on top of those receiving corps, but there’s a ton of volatility in using Willis as a fantasy fill-in.

Schefter notes that Nacua is still undergoing individual testing. The results of that testing will obviously go a long ways into determining Nacua’s status going forward, but the wideout looked to be dealing with a good amount of pain before leaving the SNF overtime loss. If the 23-year-old wideout isn’t able to go, Cooper Kupp will again be a target hot in Week 2 against the Cardinals.