NFL Player News

Bateman should be available for QB Lamar Jackson this weekend, though the field-stretching wide receiver has earned more than four targets just once this season. No. 1 WR Zay Flowers was added to the injury report with a neck injury today, which could free up a few targets for Bateman, if Flowers cannot play on Sunday.

Dobbs’ deal includes $475,000 in guarantees. The Lions needed a reliable backup quarterback after QB Teddy Bridgewater told the team earlier today that he plans to step away from football. Dobbs fills that void. Fantasy managers will remember Dobbs’ surprisingly positive play with the Vikings in 2023. Whether he could return to that form, if need be, in his age-31 season is unknown, but for now his signing addresses a team need.

The full quote is a bit winding, but Hensley said, “in 27 years of covering the Ravens, I’m not sure I’ve seen a rookie have a training camp quite like wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane.” This is high praise, though the qualifying language verges on hyperbolic. Regardless, Hensley adds that Lane “produces a highlight-making catch” every day and teammates are celebrating his successes. The Ravens’ offense generally supported two fantasy-relevant pass catchers under former OC Todd Monken. Repeating the feat with new OC Declan Doyle, whom QB Lamar Jackson is excited about, seems plausible. Could Lane step up and be the No. 2 pass catcher behind WR Zay Flowers? Only time will tell. The team was celebrating Lane’s red zone abilities back in May. Perhaps a FLEX-worthy season is possible.

Johnson went down while running a route in practice on Saturday and immediately grabbed at the back of his right leg. He appeared to be grabbing at the lowest section of his hamstring, but both the back of his knee and the highest point of his calf are possible. Johnson logged a 65 percent third-down snap share and a 56 percent two-minute-drill snap share last season. Starting RB James Cook (19 percent and 31 percent) and fellow backup RB Ray Davis (16 percent and 13 percent) were also involved in both scenarios. If this is a serious injury that causes Johnson to miss time, it could meaningfully raise Cook’s fantasy-scoring ceiling.

The former Packers practice squad player has played neither on offense nor on special teams since entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2024. He might be a practice squad candidate in Detroit if the team signs him and he can demonstrate some level of value this month.

Hopefully, we’ll get a clearer recovery timeline for Burden in the coming days, but it doesn’t sound like things were as bad as people initially feared after he was seen limping off the practice field on Saturday morning. The second-year receiver is expected to see a nice uptick in usage this season after having another year to work with Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams, and has an easier path to targets with DJ Moore now in Buffalo. We will be sure to check back in with any updates on his injury.

Downs has missed two-straight days of practice with the injury, but Steichen said on Sunday that he could return on Tuesday when the Colts have joint practices with the Patriots. This is good news for Downs and his fantasy managers, as the fourth-year receiver is expected to take on an expanded role with Michael Pittman now on the Steelers and the Colts experimenting with him more on the outside.

This comes a day after Watson spent a second consecutive day with the first-team offense after previously rotating days with Shedeur Sanders. Watson, 30, has reportedly strung together a solid few days after getting off to a slow start and could finally be separating himself from Sanders in camp. Both quarterbacks are expected to get at least one start in the preseason after it was reported last week that the team planned on alternating starters in the preseason, but it sounds like the Browns are trending toward naming Watson as their starter while Sanders would serve as his backup. Regardless of who wins the job to begin the season, we would expect to see both quarterbacks under center at some point as the team looks to evaluate what it has at the position before the 2027 offseason.

The 33-year-old signal-caller was in line to back up Jared Goff, but now he will likely call it quits. Bridgewater threw for 62 yards last season while serving as Baker Mayfield’s backup. The former No. 32 overall pick has thrown for over 15,000 yards in his career while tossing 75 touchdowns to 47 interceptions. The Lions are expected to take a look at several QBs to find a replacement for Bridgewater in the coming days.

Radunz becomes the second Saints player to suffer a torn ACL in camp, with DT Bryan Bresee being the other. Radunz started in 10 of the 15 games he appeared in last season, playing almost exclusively at left guard. The sixth-year lineman signed a two-year deal with the team this offseason and was expected to serve as a depth piece for the offensive line. He will likely be placed on IR in the coming days and set his sights on returning in 2027.

The Browns have been alternating their QB1 on a daily basis in camp, giving both Watson and Shedeur Sanders a chance to work with the first-team offense during this summer’s camp battle. While Saturday would have been Sanders’ day to work with the ones, Watson instead worked exclusively with the first-team offense for a second straight day. A team spokesperson said after the practice that this decision was based on head coach Todd Monken wanting to see Watson with certain personnel groupings, but The Athletic’s Zac Jackson believes this could be “the first strong sign that Monken views Watson as the clear leader” in the camp battle. Watson has also reportedly strung together three straight solid days of camp after getting off to an underwhelming start. It was reported earlier that the team plans to alternate preseason starters, so we would assume this camp battle has a few weeks left to go before a QB1 is named for Week 1’s game against the Jaguars.