NFL Player News

Johnson suffered an ankle injury in Week 2’s loss to the Bills and was a DNP all week. His absence shouldn’t come as a surprise, given his inactivity on Wednesday and Thursday. Now, the fourth-year pass rusher will hope to return in Week 4 for a Monday night matchup against the Dolphins. In addition to Johnson, the Jets also ruled out Josh Reynolds (hamstring), Kene Nwangwu (hamstring), and Jay Tufele (illness) for Week 3.

Both Nailor and WR Jack Bech played tonight while WR Tre Tucker took the night off. Bech failed to earn a target and played into the fifth drive. Nailor called it a night after the third drive. The Raiders’ top-three wide receivers appear to be Tucker, Nailor and Bech, in that order. Tucker might warrant matchup-based FLEX treatment in 12-team leagues.

The AFC West showdown takes place on September 14th, giving Mahomes just over three weeks to fit in a little extra rehab. Schefter adds that Mahomes has “cleared every hurdle” in training camp this summer. He has missed zero reps and reportedly “looks strong” on the practice field. Mahomes can be treated as a fantasy football QB1.

Kittle reportedly had “an encouraging visit” with his orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, today. According to Schefter, Kittle’s recovery is ahead of schedule, and he has a real chance to take a seat on the team plane when his team flies to Australia roughly one week before their Week 1 game kicks off. This is the second positive report regarding Kittle’s recovery this week. He remains a TE1 entering his age-32 season, coming off a season-ending injury.

While Washington, WR Brian Thomas Jr. and CB/WR Travis Hunter draw headlines, Meyers has seemingly positioned himself for the No. 2 role in the Jaguars’ wide receiver corps. Meyers led the Jaguars in targets (63) and receptions (43) after his Week 10 trade from the Raiders. Meyers is absolutely worth drafting as a WR3/FLEX candidate in what could be quite a PPR-friendly role.

Hutchinson also failed to execute his blocking assignment on a run play that resulted in no gain for RB Woody Marks. Playing only with the first-team offense, Hutchinson nearly hauled in a tough sideline catch that would have picked up a first down, but the pass glanced off his fingertips. It wasn’t a great outing for him, but the Texans need him all the same, with their receiving corps awfully banged up at the moment. He should not be drafted in 12-team fantasy leagues.

The Texans gave RB David Montgomery the night off, so Marks got the start alongside QB C.J. Stroud. The second-year running back played 10-of-10 first-team snaps before retiring for the evening. Marks looked good tonight, particularly on his 20-yard touchdown run, which required him to weave through traffic and bounce off would-be tacklers twice. The fact that Marks played while Montgomery rested could suggest Montgomery is the clear-cut starter rather than a 1A to Marks’ 1B. The young running back is still worth drafting as a bench stash, with potential standalone FLEX viability

To be clear, Thomas is the starting X-receiver and Hunter is rotating in behind him. Hunter has also been taking more defensive snaps lately, so if he is going to maintain an offensive role, a simplified downfield role makes sense. Regarding Thomas, DiRocco adds that he “was arguably the best player on the field” during organized team activities, has had a “great” training camp and is “showing some of the toughness and ball security that seemed to be missing last season.” With all of that in mind, losing snaps in three-wide receiver sets is a bit surprising. Thomas is extremely talented, but obvious questions remain as to his usage in the upcoming season. A boom-bust WR3 season could be on the way.

The Steelers placed Porter on the physically unable to perform list with a back injury late in July. Very little information on him has come out since then. The 26-year-old cornerback is entering the final year of his contract, and a prior report indicates he is seeking an extension averaging $30 million per year. Perhaps another team will be willing to meet that number if the Steelers aren’t.

Jefferson told Seifert what many of us were concerned about this spring and summer — that having the Murray and QB J.J. McCarthy split first-team reps “was an added challenge.” At the Vikings’ joint practice against the Ravens on Wednesday, Jefferson beat a double team for a touchdown, “but had roughly a half dozen passes broken up as he tried to muscle for position.” Jefferson should still be treated as a WR1, but as he told Seifert, “work needs to be done.”

Breer adds that third-year Commanders WR Luke McCaffrey has “taken another step.” Perhaps this receiving corps is slightly better than one may have thought a few months ago. Both players are behind WR Terry McLaurin and WR Stefon Diggs, who has “immediately stepped into a leadership role” on his new team, but receiving depth is a plus for QB Jayden Daniels.