NFL Player News

The Colts’ first training camp practice takes place on July 23. Fox 59’s Mike Chappell reports it remains to be seen whether Richardson will be “ready for a normal workload” next Wednesday, noting that head coach Shane Steichen previously indicated that Richardson will be eased into throwing. ESPN’s Stephen Holder adds that Richardson “has been in Florida for weeks working with his personal coaches throwing the ball with velocity.” The Colts are hoping Richardson will be able to compete for the starting job sooner rather than later. As things currently stand, Daniel Jones appears to be the safer bet to start in Week 1, but this is an important first step for Richardson.

Head coach Ben Johnson said after the game that Kmet’s injury “looked very good,” breaking from his normal tendency to avoid talking about injuries. Kmet’s knee buckled from under him in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s game, and he had to be carted from the field after the play. This looked like a potential season-ender when it happened, but tests will confirm the severity of it in the near future. Kmet’s absence could open up more opportunities for Colston Loveland, who has caught 26 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns this season.

Dowdle was listed as limited throughout the week and will officially be questionable entering this week’s game with the Saints. This is a new injury he is dealing with but it doesn’t sound like he’s at serious risk of missing the game at this time. Dowdle played on just 17 percent of snaps in his return to action last week and saw 11 opportunities. He’ll profile as a low-end RB3 this week if active.

Surgeons discovered Harrison suffered a torn ACL while performing knee surgery on him Thursday. The 23-year-old lineman will now be placed on season-ending IR, with hopes of returning in time for training camp next season. Harrison allowed just 13 pressures and two sacks in five games this season, earning a PFF pass-blocking grade of 67.2. Walker Little, who took over in Harrison’s absence, started last week against the Texans and will assume the starting left tackle role going forward.

The yardage total goes down as Odunze’s second highest mark of the season as the third-year receiver was held out of the end zone for the seventh straight game to start the 2026 season. He did make three massive catches on third downs to help extend drives, making his mark felt more with quality than quantity. That doesn’t necessarily benefit fantasy managers that chased his big play abilities this offseason as Odunze has largely been a fantasy dud outside of the Week four win over the Jets in which he returned 15.4 PPR points. He remains best left on fantasy benches ahead of another difficult test against the Seahawks in Week 8.

Loveland found himself dancing in the end zone for the second consecutive week when he muscled his way in for a score from 12 yards out in the third quarter. The team-leading 12 targets also came on only 33 Caleb Williams pass attempts, with no other player on the team recording more than five targets to their ledger. Furthermore, backup tight end Cole Kmet departed in the fourth quarter with an apparently serious knee injury as he had to be carted off the field, potentially setting Loveland up for more consistent volume moving forward. Loveland finally appears to be making good on his lofty draft capital from the summer after returning fantasy TE1 weeks in two straight games, something managers hope will continue in another difficult matchup on paper against the Seahawks on Monday Night Football in Week 8.

Burden erupted on the scene with a 58-yard, catch-and-run reception on a crosser in the first quarter to set up a four-yard score for D’Andre Swift. He would tack on another 24 yards and his touchdown late in the second quarter to push him over the century mark in yards on an improbable touchdown reception, taking a quick screen to the house on third-and-17 with only 14 seconds remaining before the break. Burden would largely fall victim to a more reserved offensive stance after the Bears pushed their lead to 13 points on their first possession of the second half, adding just one additional reception in the final 30 minutes of play. That matters not to fantasy managers that had been waiting for a marquee performance from a player they chased up draft boards this summer. Burden appears to be heating up now further removed from the offseason injury he carried into the start of the regular season and can continue to be started as an upside WR2 ahead of a difficult matchup against the Seahawks in Week 8.

Swift shook off an early injury scare when he took a helmet directly to his knee to earn a season-high 26 opportunities in the absence of Kyle Monangai. This game had an entirely different feel than the previous game played without Monangai, during which Roschon Johnson was much more involved in a game the Bears held at 31-7 lead in the fourth quarter. The back-and-forth nature of Week 7 kept Swift on the field for more of the game, allowing him to return a legitimate RB1 performance on the backs of elite volume. Monangai could return as early as Week 8 considering the Bears now have 10 days until they play the Seahawks on Monday Night Football, potentially sending Swift back into the RB2 range in fantasy circles.

The enigmatic signal caller also took three sacks, the last of which almost placed the Bears in position to hand the keys to victory to the Patriots. Ben Johnson called a pass play on third-and-five with under two minutes to play in Patriots territory, placing another nod of support toward his franchise quarterback. Things turned dire when Williams took a sack that appeared to take the Bears out of field goal range in a six-point game, with veteran kicker Cairo Santos hitting a career-long 58-yard field goal to dispel the worries. That sequence of two plays displayed Johnson’s unrelenting trust in his players considering the 58-yard field goal was not only the longest of Santos’ 12-year career, but the third longest field goal in Soldier Field history. Either way, Williams and the Bears escaped with the victory and move to 5-2, now 1.5-games behind the Vikings for the division lead in the most competitive division in football. The Bears get a mini-bye ahead of a Week 8 meeting with the Seahawks on Monday Night Football, where Williams will remain a back-end QB1 in fantasy.

The magic of the previous two games quickly evaporated for the diminutive slot receiver as Hunter Henry and Rhamondre Stevenson stepped into the primary security blanket role for Drake Maye, the latter of whom faced consistent pressure from the aggressive Dennis Allen Bears defense. Starting Douglas on a weekly basis is akin to reaching your hand into a brown paper bag found on the side of the road. It feels exhilarating at the time but you never know what you’re going to get.