NFL Player News

The report clarifies which area of the body Fant injured on August 6th and his limited participation bodes positively for his Week 1 availability. The Seahawks’ tight end room thinned considerably this offseason, lessening Fant’s positional target competition and No. 2 TE Pharaoh Brown (foot) was notably unable to practice on Wednesday. Tight ends notoriously take a few seasons to develop and Fant was a highly touted prospect in the 2019 NFL draft. If his toe holds up, Fant has the potential to produce a top-12 season.

The Bears drafted Monangai in the seventh round after a productive college career at Rutgers. Monangai is unproven as a pass-catcher but did establish himself as a proficient tackle-breaking rusher at the college level. If he continues to perform well, he could challenge Roschon Johnson for the No. 2 rushing role. Johnson also listed TE Joel Wilson, DE Dom Robinson & LB Ruben Hyppolite as players who have impressed him thus far.

Per Pelissero, the “contract parameters have been in place for months.” Rodgers has publicly said that he will play for $20 million. The only needs to be finalized at this point. The 41-year-old Rodgers is expected to be on the field when the Steelers’ minicamp begins on Tuesday. Although he is no longer an elite player but he should be able to manage games in OC Arthur Smith’s run-heavy, play-action-based scheme.

Lucas says, “the offense is going to be based around” the run game. Under orders from head coach Mike Macdonald “to be a physical unit and dictate terms to the defense,” the Seahawks’ revamped offensive coaching staff is telling players that the goal is to be “elite” at “the basics,” and to make sure that they “can do it against anybody.” The Seahawks’ “old-school mentality” is further embodied by their plan to use a fullback this season, something that just 11 teams did last year, including OC Klint Kubiak’s former Saints squad. Pending good health, Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III is evidently in line for a significant rushing workload, and he was encouragingly on the field for voluntary organized team activities this week, after ending the 2024 season on injured reserve. It is unclear whether there will be enough work for No. 2 RB Zach Charbonnet to have standalone value, but at worst, he profiles as an elite bench stash.

There is more to be learned on this issue, but it stands to reason that the cleanup procedure is linked to the right knee injury he suffered while filling in on punt return duties against the Colts in Week 12. St. Brown was listed as questionable for the Lions’ Week 13, Thanksgiving game against the Bears, but did suit up for the occasion, catching 5-of-7 targets for 73 yards. St. Brown is known for playing through injuries, and doing so effectively, so fantasy managers should not be overly concerned. As long as he makes a full recovery and is indeed on the field by training camp, he should again deliver season-long WR1 results.

Richardson aggravated the AC joint in his throwing shoulder, which he had surgery on in 2023. Per Steichen, he won’t undergo surgery at this time. Steichen said he expects Richardson back “at some point” in training camp. It’s a nightmare scenario for the young passer. On top of the obvious risk that the injury becomes a long-term issue, Richardson missing crucial reps in the offseason will put him behind the eight ball to win the starting job. All signs have pointed to his competition with Daniel Jones being a legitimate one and now the latter will get more time to win over the coaches. Jones has to be considered the favorite to start Week 1 at this point, making Richardson undraftable in most fantasy formats.

Per Schultz, McLaurin is “frustrated with the lack of progress on a long-term deal.” McLaurin originally showed up at voluntary OTAs but abruptly left, putting his discontent with the situation on full display. He is now entering a contract year and little progress has been made on getting him a new deal. Coming off a 13-touchdown season that saw him form an instant connection with rookie passer Jayden Daniels, McLaurin has more than earned an extension of some kind. Whether the Commanders can meet his demands is up in the air. Deebo Samuel will get more work with Daniels for as long as McLaurin remains away from the team, giving him a chance at usurping McLaurin as the team’s top receiving option. Likely facing some amount of touchdown regression already, McLaurin is becoming an increasingly risky fantasy pick.

Campbell giving props to his starters is nothing new. The Williams drumbeat has been marching onward all offseason and has no end in sight. Jahmyr Gibbs is one of the most electric backs in the NFL. It’s no surprise he’s standing out in padless practices. The most interesting name of the bunch, outside of a handful of defenders Campebll also shouted out, is LaPorta. The third-year tight end took a step back in 2024, going from 86 receptions for 889 yards as a rookie to 60 grabs for 726 yards and three fewer touchdowns. LaPorta got a slow start to the year and was then hampered by ankle and shoulder injuries. After making noise in early offseason practices, it’s safe to assume this is the healthiest he has been since his rookie season. Even if LaPorta’s target volume is capped by the surrounding talent in Detroit, his involvement as a red zone weapon alone keeps him in the middle of the TE1 mix.

Speaking on the BMore Baseball Podcast, DeCosta mentioned that he met with Jackson in person last week. DeCosta, however, didn’t make it sound like a deal was getting done anytime soon. Jackson signed a five-year, $260 million contract with the Ravens in 2023. He is under contract through 2027, so DeCosta doesn’t have to rush the extension. With the price of elite quarterback play skyrocketing, the two-time MVP is rightfully eying a raise. That may not come this offseason, but the Ravens aren’t going to let Jackson hit free agency when the time comes. They placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson last time his contract was set to expire and he publicly requested a trade. Even though an extension was eventually reached, DeCosta flew dangerously close to the sun while trying to get the most affordable deal. He described those negotiations as arduous and it’s hard to imagine him not getting ahead of the situation this time around.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the deal includes $20 million in guarantees. The former first-round pick hasn’t lived up to the hype of being the No. 27 overall selection, but he finally found his stride in 2024. Bateman caught 45 passes for 756 yards and nine touchdowns. His yardage and touchdown totals were easily career-highs. Bateman has settled in as a splash play specialist and a high-volume option in the red zone. His five red zone touchdowns tied Isaiah Likely for second on the team behind only Mark Andrews. Bateman is a frustrating fantasy option on a week-to-week basis, but the extension could signal more involvement for him in 2025, especially with Mark Andrews on the decline. Bateman will be a boom/bust WR5 for the upcoming fantasy season.

Asked about what role he’ll have in Ben Johnson’s offense, Moore said he wouldn’t know that until much later in the offseason. ‘‘Right now I don’t have goals because I’m still learning everything and I don’t even know if I’m going to touch the ball as much as I did some years or if I’m going to be used the same way,’’ said Moore, coming off his worst season as a pro during which he often displayed on-field frustration with Caleb Williams and a dysfunctional Chicago offense. Johnson has said the new Bears coaching staff has yet to determine roles for their various wideouts, including Moore. ‘‘We’re not necessarily putting guys and plugging them into certain spots and saying, ‘Stick and stay,’ ’’ Johnson said when asked about Moore’s slot usage. ‘‘We’re moving guys around. We’re getting a great feel this springtime of what guys can and can’t do.” Moore should be a viable top-24 fantasy wideout in 2025 if he remains the team’s top pass-catching option.