NFL Player News

Samuel joined Washington in the offseason and operated as the Commanders’ No. 1 wide receiver with Terry McLaurin holding out before the season and dealing with a quad injury during the season. He is primarily a slot receiver that sees rushing opportunities out of the backfield. The 29-year-old finished the year with 72 receptions for 727 yards and five touchdowns, rushing 17 times for 75 yards and a touchdown. He failed to hit 100 yards receiving in any games this season, the first time that has happened in his career. Samuel was off to a fast start with at least six receptions in four out of the first five games of the season, but had only one such game the rest of the way with Jayden Daniels mostly sidelined. He finished the season with a 71.0 PFF receiving grade, good for No. 40 among wide receivers. Samuel is slated to enter free agency in the offseason and will find a role as a veteran slot receiver, whether for the Commanders or another team next season.

Per Breer, Jeanty “is showing explosion and violence running without pads on.” Assuming those traits carry over to padded practices and the regular season, coach Klint Kubiak “will have a pretty valuable centerpiece for the run game that serves as the foundation for his scheme.” It’s been months since we heard talk of a split backfield. The idea is seemingly a thing of the past after May and June reports indicated Jeanty could serve as a featured three-down player. Treat him as a locked-in RB1 with upside.

This admittedly isn’t much of an update, but it is something. Rodriguez took his first two reps in team drills at the Jaguars’ fourth training camp practice on Sunday. He took one handoff from QB Nick Mullens and one from starting QB Trevor Lawrence. Rodriguez’s return from foot surgery has been slow going. The Jaguars will host their first padded practice tomorrow. Upgrading to two team-drill reps does not suggest Rodriguez is ready for contact, but we’ll find out soon enough. For now, RB Bhayshul Tuten has the inside track to the starting job.

Washington seemingly has decent odds of being the Jaguars’ most efficient target earner this season. Does that mean he will be the most productive wide receiver? Not necessarily, but it is possible. The Jags ranked third in 11 personnel rate last year, and 18th in 12 personnel. Jags coach Liam Coen wants to increase the latter rate, but has an embarrassment of riches at wide receiver. Washington logged 300-plus snaps both in the slot and on the perimeter last year. He can play both roles. If they do increase 12 personnel, and he can earn even a rotational role in that package, returning value as a WR3 with positively volatile showings is absolutely in play. Otherwise, he might be best viewed as a PPR FLEX.

Walker tore the ACL in his left knee during training camp last year, ending his rookie season before it began. The Bucs had high hopes for him and coach Todd Bowles plans to line him up all over the formation this summer to see how versatile the second-year player can be this season. Per Bowles, Walker’s quickness and speed have already returned.

Taylor published his story on Saturday morning. Allen suffered a bone bruise in his shin a few hours later. The Chiefs’ first padded practice takes place on Monday. If Allen is ready to go, he will huddle up alongside QB Patrick Mahomes. If not, we expect the team to hold his seat until he’s ready. Per Taylor, Allen entered camp competing against Nikko Remigio and Jalen Royals for the WR4 role. Taylor states Allen has already surpassed both players, and his performance “has the Chiefs dreaming and recalculating what he could be in the NFL.” Taylor highlights Allen’s performance against man coverage and his crossing route running before noting that Chiefs receivers struggled in both departments last year. If Allen can heal up and continue making plays when pads go on, he seemingly has a chance to earn a role in the Chiefs’ offense. Stay tuned.

PFF charts the Patriots’ use of tempo at just 2.4 percent last season, tying for dead last in the NFL. The league average was 6.27 percent and the Saints led the league at 19.2 percent. The Patriots averaged 64.6 offensive plays per game, just 0.28 above average. Playing faster leads to more plays, and more plays lead to more opportunities to score fantasy points. Hopefully, McDaniels’ preseason play-calling confirms his intended offensive change is being implemented.

Mason stands 5'11 and his weight is variously listed between 223-230 source-to-source. He hits the latter figure on the Vikings’ website. That’s fairly hefty for a running back. The Vikings’ starter, RB Aaron Jones, is 31 years old and took a pay cut to stay with the team this offseason. Mason, 27, might have a chance to challenge for the primary rushing role this year, though Jones will likely remain the primary player on passing downs.

We know this is getting into the weeds, and we apologize to the editor, but it is worth noting. Reed’s weekly range of outcomes will be somewhat dependent on his access to heavy personnel packages. Through three NFL seasons, Reed has taken just 31 snaps in 12 personnel, so even a mild increase would boost his target-earning opportunities. Packers QB Jordan Love confirmed that second-year WR Matthew Golden is replacing WR Romeo Doubs as the X-receiver when speaking with the media today, so Golden and Watson (Z-receiver) will likely take the majority of 12 personnel reps this season. Hopefully, Reed can at least send Golden to the sideline for a decent share of those opportunities, though.

This is unfortunate. Snowden was an effective rotational pass rusher for the Raiders last season. The Cowboys signed him in June. He was suspended for three games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy in July. The Cowboys put an injury designation on his release. Perhaps he will be brought back at some point. They correspondingly signed OT Sebastian Gutierrez.

Phew. Nolen suffered a surgery-worthy meniscus injury in his left knee last season, ending his rookie campaign prematurely. Nolen left practice early last Friday and appeared to be in considerable pain, indicating to team trainers that something was wrong with his left knee. Apparently, this is more so a mental hurdle than anything else. Speaking to the media before practice, LaFleur explained that sometimes when a player is returning from a serious injury, discomfort can, understandably, cause a scare. The Cardinals’ promising youngster will take the practice field with his teammates this afternoon.