NFL Player News

Smith has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury but was able to log a practice in his return from the Ravens bye week. With several days to go until Sunday’s game against the Bears, Smith is clearly trending in the right direction heading into a pivotal matchup with the Ravens’ season on the line.

It would be really nice to see Evans consistently practice in full at this point, but both Inman and ESPN’s Nick Wagoner appear mostly unconcerned by today’s development. Per Wagoner, Evans stopped practicing after running a deep route on Sunday. Evans “seemed to be moving fine” after exiting. Wagoner adds that it is “clear he and the Niners want to be cautious to get him to the regular season ready to go.” Evans’ soft tissue concerns remain present, but as long as he takes the field on game day, he is a WR2 with WR1 upside.

The team labeled Stribling as “day-to-day” yesterday. His limited return is a good sign for his Week 1 availability. Hopefully, the 49ers’ impressive rookie is back in pads before long. He can still be drafted as a FLEX starter with WR3 upside at this time.

Odum, 32, was a standout special teams player for much of his career, earning first-team All-Pro (2020) and second-team All-Pro (2022) with the Colts and 49ers. He sandwiched three seasons in San Francisco between two stints in Indianapolis. If he makes the team, he is unlikely to play on defense.

According to the California Post’s Vincent Bonsignore, the Raiders “gathered as a team to acknowledge the injury” after Jeanty was helped off the field. ESPN’s Ryan McFadden believes it is a right knee injury. This sounds bad. We will provide an update as soon as possible. Raiders rookie RB Mike Washington is his direct backup and would likely operate as the team’s starter if Jeanty misses time.

The Jets also brought aboard EDGE Anthony Dunn and S Tanner Wall. The Jets correspondingly waived WR Caullin Lacy, RB Sam Scott and EDGE Nate Voorhis with injury designations. It is possible the team will re-sign all three to injured reserve.

The most important takeaway is that McCaffrey has resumed practicing. Whether the planned aspect is true or not is secondary. That said, one wonders why the team chose to say their star running back was sidelined by “tightness,” rather than simply telling reporters he was taking veteran rest days, which is quite common for a 30-year-old player. McCaffrey said the team wanted him to “ramp up pretty big” early on, before taking time off, and later initiating another ramp-up period, “so we’re fresh for the duration.” McCaffrey says he feels “fresh” after taking nearly two weeks off. We would hope so. He’s a locked-in RB1 at this time.

Second-year Browns QB Shedeur Sanders outplayed veteran QB Deshaun Watson on Saturday. Watson then followed up his poor performance with an ill-advised press conference, in which he briefly touched on the fan base’s “disrespectful” reaction to his 2024 Achilles tendon rupture, among other things. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported earlier today that the team must decide whether Watson is “in a good enough space to be the leader for this team,” adding that Sanders’ “presence” and “aura” have helped him curry favor with people in the Browns’ organization. At the end of the day, Sanders is likely the better bet to provide the requisite passing game stability for a couple of Browns’ pass catchers to maintain weekly starting consideration in fantasy, though Sanders himself is unlikely to be anything more than a QB2 in superflex leagues.

Things are still up in the air on this one. Harbaugh said it’s “a possibility” that Nabers ditches the red non-contact jersey, but added that he doesn’t think it’s “a necessity” to do so this week. The season opener is exactly three weeks away, so delaying the decision by a week might be fine. Nabers is seemingly on track to face the Cowboys in Week 1.

Harris missed a few practices last week with an undisclosed injury, and the team kept him inactive for Thursday’s preseason game against the 49ers. Reports on the matter have been sparse, but it appears as though Saturday’s limited session was his first action since the week prior. According to ESPN’s Kris Rhim, Harris snagged “a bunch of catches” before exiting team drills and spent “most of the day” working off to the side with Chargers trainers. The Athletic’s Daniel Popper has viewed Chargers WR Quentin Johnston as the team’s No. 2 wide receiver. Johnston dealt with a minor ankle injury last week, but Rhim says Johnston looks “healthy” after observing him come down with “a leaping touchdown grab during a red zone period.” Harris is attempting to unseat him, yet would still warrant a late-round fantasy draft pick even if he begins the season in his current No. 3 role.

Slater resumed practicing in a limited capacity yesterday after taking two weeks off due to a “little flare-up” in his surgically repaired knee. Slater, 27, suffered a season-ending patellar tendon rupture in August last year. A few weeks ago, the Chargers’ left tackle was reportedly working toward taking three reps in a row while improving his conditioning. It is unclear what type of progress, if any, he was able to make during his two-week absence, but we should find out soon enough. Coach Jim Harbaugh said he hopes to play his starters through two full drives in Thursday’s preseason game against the Rams. Hopefully, Slater accomplishes that feat without issue. Stay tuned.