NFL Player News

Burden also reportedly suffered an undisclosed injury after landing awkwardly on a football, but per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, the hamstring strain is the issue currently keeping Burden from returning to practice. Johnson’s day-to-day classification is promising, but the rookie receiver is missing valuable reps. Per Cronin, veteran wide receivers Olamide Zaccheaus and Devin Duvernay have taken reps with the first-team unit during the early days of training camp. Johnson summed up Burden’s real-life and fantasy status succinctly, saying, “the sooner we get him out there, the quicker he can carve a role for himself.”

Spillane got in two limited sessions to close the week, which is a good sign. The veteran linebacker aggravated an ankle injury in the AFC Championship Game that initially sidelined him in Weeks 14-18. Patriots LB Harold Landry (knee) was limited on Wednesday, sat out on Thursday and resumed practicing in a limited capacity on Friday.

Maye injured his right, throwing shoulder in the Patriots’ AFC Championship Game victory over the Broncos. He was limited through last week’s first two practices before being sidelined on Friday by an illness. After resting and rehabbing through the weekend, he rattled off three straight full practice sessions this week. This year’s MVP runner-up is ready to go.

Up until Thursday, Darnold had been a limited practice participant since injuring his oblique during the Seahawks’ final Divisional Round practice. As of Friday evening, he has two full sessions under his belt. Last time we saw Darnold on the field, he threw for a season-high 346 yards and three touchdowns. He is good to go for Sunday’s game.

The Seahawks had Emmanwori take the day off to receive treatment on Thursday, after spraining his ankle on Wednesday. Emmanwori suffered a high-ankle sprain in September and sprained the same ankle this week, but imaging indicated he avoided a high-ankle sprain this time. He practiced fully today, which is a great sign for his readiness to play a normal allotment of snaps on Sunday. Seahawks LT Charles Cross (foot) was also cleared to play after practicing fully today.

Jones adds that he wants Pickens to be a Cowboy for “a long time.” We have no doubt this is true, but the Cowboys’ recent contract negotiations with their star players have been volatile, to say the least. In 2024, the front office signed CeeDee Lamb to an extension on August 27th, and waited until mere hours before the Cowboys’ Week 1 game against the Browns to sign Dak Prescott to an extension. Contract talks with Micah Parsons soured to the point that he ended up being traded. A report from NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk notes that the Cowboys will likely use the franchise tag on Pickens, an impending free agent, “which will buy the sides time to negotiate a long-term deal.”

It sounds like Mendoza does not plan to throw at the NFL Combine, though his statement was not definitive. He adds that he wants to throw at Indiana’s Pro Day with his teammate, in part because he wants to “make sure [he gives his] guys the best chance” to succeed as well. He declined to comment specifically on the idea of joining the Raiders via the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but had “good things to say about the work Klint Kubiak has done with Sam Darnold in Seattle this year.”

Bower has served as Duke’s defensive ends coach since 2022. He was a defensive analyst with Texas A&M in 2021. Current Ravens ILB coach Tyler Santucci notably coached Texas A&M linebackers from 2020-2021. Bower’s new role with the Ravens is his first at the NFL level.

NFL insider Jordan Schultz broke the news, saying Kingsbury “wants to continue growing as a coach and learn more about what it takes to be a head coach in the NFL again.” This is a smart move. McVay has successfully balanced head-coaching duties while running the Rams’ offense since 2017. He won NFL Coach of the Year in his first season on the job and Super Bowl LVI in 2021. Kingsbury also ran the offense while serving as the Cardinals’ head coach from 2019-2022, though he did so less successfully.

Brady’s role has not yet been announced. He served as the Chargers’ pass game coordinator for the past two seasons. He was with the Eagles in the two seasons before that, serving as an offensive consultant before being promoted to senior offensive assistant. He also notably served as the Colts’ offensive coordinator from 2021 to 2022.

Johnson and Tim Atkins both served as assistant secondary coaches last year. Johnson now takes over the cornerback group while Atkins takes over the safeties. Johnson played safety for the Cardinals (2009-2015) and Titans (2016) before entering the coaching ranks as a defensive assistant for the Buccaneers in 2022. He was promoted to his prior role in 2023. Atkins has worked under Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles since their time together with the Jets (2016-2018). He followed Bowles to the Buccaneers in 2019 and was promoted to his prior role in 2022.