NFL Player News

Woods joined the Saints in 2023 to serve as their defensive coordinator and has also made stops as a coordinator with the Broncos (2017-2018) and the Browns (2020-2022). Woods has twice coached a defense that ranked in the top five in yards allowed per game and had the Saints ranking 13th in yards allowed and eighth in points allowed in 2023. Things bottomed out for the team last season, but last year’s struggles are due more to organizational failures. Woods’ role with the Raiders hasn’t been clearly defined, but regardless of what it is, he should provide a good veteran presence to the Raiders’ organization.

Kittle is “very confident” he will be activated from the active/PUP list before Week 1, meaning he should resume playing sometime in Weeks 1-4. The veteran tight end has not yet resumed practicing, but “hinted he’d be back at practice shortly but declined to give a timeline,” per The Athletic’s Matt Barrows. Kittle said that he is running “a lot” and hitting top speeds while doing so. The 49ers are scheduled to fly out for the Week 1 game in Melbourne, Australia roughly one week before the game. Kittle said that the next couple of weeks will determine whether he joins his teammates on that flight. From the way Kittle is discussing his recovery, it almost sounds like he expects to play in Week 2 at the latest, though that is purely an interpretive conclusion. Whether Kittle returns to form as a post-catch dominator remains to be seen, but the 32-year-old remains a top-12 player at his position at this time.

Kraft is recovering from a season-ending ACL tear. He is on track to play in Week 1. Easing him into action before “sending [him] to the wolves” partway through the year, as Kraft says, makes sense. Kraft proved himself to be a top-tier real-life tight end and a locked-in TE1 in fantasy last year. He can still return TE1 numbers while playing on a snap count, likely receiving a few first-read passes that are designed with his post-catch skill set in mind. These comments should not impact his ADP negatively. For what it’s worth, Kraft also said that he is hoping to play his normal allotment of snaps in Week 1. The team may simply choose to take a conservative approach.

The language regarding Love’s ankle injury continues to evolve. The team initially said the No. 3 overall pick could have re-entered Thursday’s preseason game if necessary. Coach Mike LaFleur later said Love would need at least a week off. On the plus side, Fowler referred to Love as the team’s “soon-to-be lead back,” furthering the notion that some of the training camp rotation hubbub was perhaps inaccurate. Love has time to recover and play productively this season. His recovery is simply worth tracking right now.

Both Fowler and his colleague, Herm Edwards, complimented QB Deshaun Watson’s recent performances in both practice and preseason play. Per Fowler, Watson “has some momentum, not all of the momentum” at this time. His competitor, QB Shedeur Sanders, will start against the Bills this weekend.

Richardson is a 2026 undrafted free agent. The Titans also signed TE Matt Lauter. They correspondingly placed DE Jaylen Harrell and TE Jaren Kanak on injured reserve.

NBC Houston’s Aaron Wilson listed the Texans players who were not practicing on Sunday. Dell was the only player who was not listed with an injury designation, so it seems likely that this is just a rest day. The Texans are easing Dell, 26, back into action following a lengthy absence stemming from a multi-ligament knee injury suffered in 2024. Dell’s range of potential outcomes remains wide. He may be best suited to a complementary, rotational role.

Noel has been dealing with the pinky finger issue since late July, but the hamstring is a recent injury. The second-year wide receiver would ideally be competing for the WR3 role right now, and losing reps could slow him down. He is a risky dart throw, but he flashed talent at times in his rookie season.

The Dolphins signed QB Mark Gronowski after Ewers picked up the injury. Ewers is the Dolphins’ primary backup, so the team was a little short-staffed for the remaining preseason games. Dolphins backup OT Jamaree Salyer reportedly suffered a season-ending injury. The Dolphins also waived CB Ethan Robinson and signed LB Cam Riley.

McNichols probably is no higher than fourth on the depth chart in Washington behind ‘Bill,’ Rachaad White, and Kaytron Allen. Missing time due to injury doesn’t bode well for him making the initial 53-man roster.

With Malik Nabers still off the field, that’s a given. Still, Likely finds himself as barely a top-12 tight end by ADP. The argument could be made that he belongs closer to the top 10. “Given the way [Jaxson] Dart likes to throw to his tight ends, it suggests that Likely is in for a breakout season given the chemistry they already have developed,” Raanan concludes.