NFL Player News

Okudah missed most of the 2024 season with a serious hip injury he sustained in the season opener. He was used as a rotational corner in the final weeks of the regular season and into the postseason. Okudah, 26, has two interceptions and 14 passes defended since entering the league in 2020. In Minnesota, he’ll join a defense graded by Pro Football Focus as last season’s 16th-best coverage unit.

Rush is taking all of the first-team reps with the Falcons in Friday’s practice, and according to Rapoport, sources familiar with the situation expect Rush to get the nod on Sunday. With Rush under center, all Falcons pass-catchers receive a substantial downgrade after he struggled to move the ball in Week 1 against the Steelers. Fantasy managers hoping Drake London and Kyle Pitts can be of some value against a Panthers defense that allowed 269 yards and two passing TDs to the Bears last week should approach both players with caution. London is best trusted as more of a WR2, while Pitts, who saw one target on 21 routes last week, shouldn’t be viewed as anything more than a boom-or-bust TE2 in what figures to be a run-heavy game for the Falcons.

Flowers missed back-to-back practices to start the week, but his return on Friday is an encouraging sign for him entering the weekend. The Ravens will release their final injury report shortly, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Flowers drew a questionable tag and was viewed as a game-day decision after the Ravens have a chance to look at him in warmups. We will provide an update on his status when we learn more.

Collins has missed each of the Texans’ last two practices and is at risk of being sidelined for Week 2’s game against the Bengals. The team will release its final injury report later in the day, but the timing of his injury, coupled with back-to-back DNPs, doesn’t bode well for Collins this weekend. If he were to miss Sunday’s game, Xavier Hutchinson and Kayshon Boutte would be on the radar as potential dart throws in deeper leagues.

The league is reportedly pushing to get hold of the videotaped incident that took place between Jacobs and his ex-girlfriend, but the victim has filed a motion that states the disclosure of the tape would threaten her “privacy, dignity, security, and emotional well-being.” Fowler says this motion will make acquiring the tape “increasingly harder for the league,” but that a four-to-six-game suspension is believed to be in range for Jacobs, according to people Fowler has spoken with across the league. Jacobs remains on the commissioner’s exempt list and will not be active for Week 2’s game against the Jets.

According to Pryor, the Steelers’ relationship with Porter “may be fractured beyond repair.” The fourth-year corner has been seeking a contract extension all offseason and missed Week 1 with a back injury that some believe could improve with a new deal. Porter logged a full practice on Wednesday only to reaggravate it on Thursday, putting his Week 2 availability in doubt. According to Pryor, one major holdup in a deal between Porter and the Steelers is the lack of guaranteed money the Steelers are willing to give him. The Steelers typically don’t give out guaranteed money beyond the first year of a deal, but made an exception for T.J. Watt on his extension. Porter reportedly hoped for a similar exception, but so far, that hasn’t happened. This situation remains far from resolved. With Friday’s practice still to go, we’ll see if Porter is ruled in/out before the weekend or if his status will be one to look out for closer to game day.

Allen played on just one offensive snap in last week’s win over the Browns, but led the Jaguars in third-down snaps (146) last season. Despite all the snaps he saw on third down as a rookie, Allen never materialized into a viable fantasy option. Whether or not that changes this season is to be determined, but any additional snaps he receives on third down would come at the expense of Bhayshul Tuten and Chris Rodriguez, after Rodriguez led the way with five third-down snaps last week. While Allen seeing additional work in these situations could be problematic for fantasy managers, they shouldn’t let that deter them from starting Tuten in Week 2 against the Broncos.

McDonald popped up on Thursday’s injury report with an ankle injury, but speaking with the media on Friday, Glenn said the fourth-year pass rusher will be good to go for Sunday’s game against the Packers. Rookie CB D’Angelo Ponds, who missed last week with an ankle injury, is also expected to make his NFL debut this week, giving the Jets additional help in the secondary.

This was always expected to be the case, but head coach Aaron Glenn said on Friday, while speaking with the media, that Cooper, RB/KR Kene Nwangwu (back), S Minkah Fitzpatrick (groin), and EDGE Joseph Ossai (foot) will all miss Sunday’s game against the Packers. It was reported earlier this week that the Jets are hoping to have Cooper back “within the next four weeks,” so it wouldn’t be surprising if he also missed Week 3’s game against the Lions.

Donald was reportedly close to being ready for the Rams’ season opener in Australia, but now the future Hall of Famer hopes to return in the Rams’ official home opener on Monday Night Football against the Giants. While Donald playing in Week 2 is still not a sure thing, he logged a full practice Thursday, which is a good sign with one practice still to go this week.

Burrow has been limited in each of the team’s first two practices, likely because the Bengals are exercising caution with their QB1. With one more practice to go before the Bengals release their final injury report, it sounds like there is no real concern about Burrow’s availability for Week 2 against a Texans defense looking to rebound from a tough season opener in which they allowed 36 points to the Bills. We will be sure to provide a final status for Burrow once the team announces it.