NFL Player News

Conner was hit with a questionable tag after the Cardinals’ final practice of the week, but Breer reports the team expects him to play against the Rams, who are still battling for their playoff lives in the NFC. Rookie Trey Benson’s (ankle) status is considered “up in the air,” according to Breer, but even if he is active, it’s hard to imagine him having much of an impact with Conner also on the field. Conner will profile as a fringe RB1/RB2 against a Rams defense that’s allowed the 12th-most PPR points per game to opposing RBs since Week 12.

The Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday it will file charges against Arnold “following his arrest in connection with a February robbery and kidnapping in Tampa.” The charges carry a potential sentence of up to life in prison. The NFL will likely wait for the investigation to conclude before conducting their own investigation, though the charges are serious enough to where Arnold has a chance of not returning to the league. Arnold made a statement via his PR rep saying he “categorically denies any involvement in the matter.” He voluntarily surrendered to a warrant and two other defendants pleaded guilty Wednesday. Headed for the NFL Commissioner’s Exempt List, Arnold faces arrest with multiple felony charges.

Stafford discussed retirement rumors on Chris Long’s podcast, Green Light. He said a retirement decision would be “year-to-year...committing to more than that feels a little bit daunting and I think a little bit unfair to the team and myself.” The 38-year-old is looking only to the short-term, knowing he is “ready to play this year.” Stafford is not looking to make long-term decisions at this stage of his career without knowing how his body will feel after a season of play. The veteran also mentioned he has talked to Tom Brady and Drew Brees about playing into his 40s and is open to the prospect of doing so. However, Stafford is only focusing on the upcoming season for now; the Rams will be in Super Bowl contention between his return and the addition of Myles Garrett on defense.

Grigson was a casualty of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s firing. The Vikings didn’t seem to consider him for their GM vacancy and he was then replaced by a pair of hirings from new GM Nolan Teasley. Grigson initially agreed to stick around in a new role, but a mutual split was likely for the best. Grigson is actually reprising his role as a senior football advisor in Cleveland, having previously held the same title with the Browns in 2020 and 2021. He also served as a senior personnel executive with the team in 2017.

Bosa is currently a free agent, but even his own brother said in May that he isn’t thinking about football much these days. Nick instead said that his brother Joey is working on his golf game. Bosa tallied five sacks for the Bills in 2025. Even if he is well past his prime, he could make an impact as a rotational pass-rusher on a contending team. For now, it doesn’t sound like that is in the cards.

The Vikings fired GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah this offseason. No reports of Grigson interviewing for the vacancy ever surfaced. He was initially expected to remain with the team in a new role after new GM Nolan Teasley hired two assistants of his own. Instead, Grigson is reportedly set to work for a new team, though the details of that move haven’t been reported yet.

Per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the deal is worth “up to” $48 million. A chunk of that figure is presumably based on incentives. The contract includes $25 million guaranteed. Strange posted a minor breakout in 2024 with 411 yards on 40 grabs. He upped the ante in 2025 to 46 catches for 540 yards despite missing five games. Strange was heading into the final year of his rookie deal before this extension and the team spent multiple draft picks on tight ends, making it look like they were considering letting him walk next offseason. Instead, Nate Boerkircher and Tanner Koziol will primarily see the field for heavy offensive looks, something the team talked about after the draft. Strange will sit on the TE1/2 border in early fantasy drafts.

“That’s where [Jaguars coaches] believe he can take that next step,” Wolfe said, adding that Thomas has shown much better chemistry with Trevor Lawrence this offseason after the two seemed never to be on the same page in 2024 and 2025. A downfield role would be nothing new for Thomas, who last season averaged 14.3 air yards per target and led the Jaguars in air yards share when healthy. Thomas in 2026 could remain a high-variance weekly fantasy option whose stat line will rely on splash plays. That could make him frustrating for fantasy managers while Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers are more consistent but lack the big play upside of BTJ. Lawrence in 2025 ranked 19th out of 33 qualifying QBs in downfield accuracy, in line with Cam Ward.

With Matthew Stafford likely to have another limited training camp as he manages a back issue for the second straight year, rookie No. 13 pick Ty Simpson and former fourth-round pick Stetson Bennett are battling for the backup role. Though the team wants Jimmy Garoppolo back, the vet is mulling retirement, leading to one of these two unproven arms to be thrust into the backup quarterback role. Atkins reports Bennett took reps first in Stafford’s two missed practices in minicamp but neither Bennett nor Simpson “were able to stand out ahead of the other.” The Rams consider the backup role a significant void “with Stafford’s need to take time off and with the risk from each time Stafford takes a hit”, according to Atkins. A season in which Stafford misses time due to injury already decreases the Rams’ contention odds and an unprepared Simpson or Bennett as QB2 would be costly. Both will have time for developmental reps in camp and Simpson is worth rostering in Dynasty fantasy football formats.

“Sometimes I am a little irritated with my situation,” Mims added. “But at the end of the day, I’m blessed to be where I am.” The Jaylen Waddle trade has effectively blocked Mims from much chance of offensive snaps as he enters the final year of his rookie contract. At the same time, he’s such an explosive punt returner that the Broncos probably still see him as a roster lock. It’s not fully over for those of you hanging on in dynasty leagues, but it certainly doesn’t look promising in the short-term for Mims to put up any offensive volume.

The Falcons had previously waffled a bit on potentially making Pitts available after “President Of Football” Matt Ryan took over, but must have liked what they saw in the early offseason. Pitts currently looks to be slated for the No. 2 receiver role in Atlanta behind Drake London and should be a fantasy-viable TE1 this year. (Words that have never come back to bite anyone.) Pitts settles for slightly below George Kittle’s $19.1 million per year and Trey McBride’s $19 million per year and will remain in Atlanta for the near future.