NFL Player News

Helm is now on the wrong side of questionable, which benefits TE Chig Okonkwo, who has scored a touchdown in consecutive weeks. Okonkwo is scheduled to enter free agency at the end of the season and has a chance to earn a decent payday with another strong showing.

It’s very early in training camp and we aren’t really concerned at this point, but it is a bit alarming that Monangai’s injury has kept him out this many practices in a row. Cronin points out that Monangai is the only player not practicing who isn’t on the PUP or NFI lists. We’ll keep an eye on this one.

Bates strained his hamstring in practice on Thursday. The veteran blocking tight end’s absence likely won’t change much as long as it doesn’t linger into the season. Ben Sinnott will likely get more opportunities in training camp.

Jim Harbaugh declined to answer when asked if Tuipulotu is holding in, saying only that it’s being “handled internally.” So, yeah, he’s almost undoubtedly holding in. Tuipulotu is coming off a career-high 13 sacks in 2025 and will be a free agent after the season, so it would behoove the Chargers to get something done here.

That could be very interesting news for James Cook’s value in PPR leagues. Cook caught 33 passes last year and has broken 40 catches once in four seasons. Ty Johnson has been the team’s third-down back for most of the last two years when healthy, but probably won’t get enough receptions for this to make him more fantasy-interesting.

In other words, he actually practiced on Saturday for the first time. Jacas missed the entire offseason activity program with a knee injury that prompted the Patriots to attach a waiver to his rookie contract. ESPN’s Mike Reiss reports that Jacas was not yet participating in team drills. He’ll likely start the year buried on the depth chart barring some major steps in the next few weeks.

It’s hard to put too much stock into practice stats, but if there’s one thing coaching staffs won’t tolerate from the quarterback position it’s turnovers. “It’s multiple -- they’re doing all types of different stuff, showing us different things,” Watson said of Cleveland’s defense. Watson and Shedeur Sanders remain in competition for the No. 1 quarterback job at this point, though it certainly seems like Sanders (who has been picked once per Oyefusi) is off to a better start.

Taylor, who had been a rumored hold-in, has actually participated in camp — though he did take a rest day on Friday — and Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon said she would love it if Taylor “would be a Colt for life.” It seems like there’s positive momentum on an extension here, though it isn’t done just yet. Taylor is currently going off draft boards as RB4 and a top-10 pick.

Rapoport adds that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Gibbs isn’t at practice until they get real significant progress on a contract extension. Gibbs has passed his conditioning test but is currently a hold-in. Rapoport adds that “it would make sense” for Robinson to get the first contract of the two, but concedes that “it’s safe to say it’s up in the air right now.”

Bergeron was entering the final year of his rookie contract and was paid like a top-10 guard here. This has been a busy offseason for the Falcons and they haven’t even gotten to Bijan Robinson yet. Bergeron should remain a fixture on the interior line for the Falcons over the short-term future.

Lemon has been working with the first-team offense, and this is all broadly encouraging for the idea that he can be a viable fantasy receiver in his rookie season. Lemon missed a chunk of offseason activities with a hamstring injury but it looks like he’s making a good mark early in training camp. He’s currently coming off the board just inside the top 40 wideouts on most sites by ADP.