NFL Player News

The six-year veteran has made only 13 professional starts with the Steelers but is expected to draw significant interest in the free agent market if not signed by Monday, Senior NFL Insider Josina Anderson reports. This comes on the heels of the expectation that numerous teams will be looking to the free agent pool for help at cornerback in the coming cycle, a notion that could spark rapid fire signings in the secondary. Pierre was a mainstay on special teams in Pittsburgh and contributed 614 defensive snaps the previous two seasons.

Murray logs his second limited session of the week. He has a chance to play, but we simply will not know his status until the team announces that he has passed the NFL’s concussion protocol. If Vikings QB2 Carson Wentz gets the start against the Bears, he would be a worthwhile QB2 in fantasy.

We knew Burrow was practicing, but we did not know whether he would upgrade to full participation. He remains limited, but beat reporters note that Burrow did far more today than he did yesterday. The Bengals’ quarterback skipped stretches before doing some light throwing on Wednesday. Today, he was suited up in pads and appeared to do everything up through individual drills. He likely sat out team drills, but that is not overly concerning. Burrow should be good to go as a QB1 this week. Hopefully, he upgrades to full participation tomorrow.

Clowney is the type of veteran who can play without practicing, but at this point, he is firmly questionable to play. Fortunately, the Texans field a deep, talented pass rush and will be okay without him.

Bills RB James Cook totaled 57 yards on just 13 rushing attempts last week, adding three catches for 12 yards. Per Fowler, the Bills plan to use him a lot more in primetime this evening. Cook can be treated as a locked-in RB1 in what should be a fantasy-friendly game environment on Thursday Night Football. The Bills notably elevated RB Frank Gore Jr. from the practice squad, which could indicate that RB Ty Johnson (hamstring) will be inactive tonight.

This is probably a bad sign regarding WR Zay Flowers’ (hamstring) Week 2 availability, though the Ravens also placed rookie WR Ja’Kobi Lane (wrist) on short-term injured reserve this week. A signing seems likely.

Underhill adds that Olave’s hamstring issue is not expected to be a “problem.” If this really is a non-issue, perhaps Olave just experienced cramping today and will be back out there on Friday, practicing in full. That said, soft tissue issues that pop up mid-week are typically not good. Saints No. 2 WR Devaughn Vele is worth adding if he is a free agent.

The back designation is new. He left practice with the training staff on Thursday. It seems likely that he reaggravated his existing back injury. Based on that, it wouldn’t be surprising if he remained sidelined for Week 2.

As it was with Chris Olave, media reporters for the Saints witnessed Young practicing early, so this likely came on afterwards. A midweek downgrade is never a great sign, and Young struggled through a calf injury early last season that sidelined him for some time. Still, it’s not completely implausible he’ll suit up in Week 2. New Orleans Football’s Nick Underhill later added that Young experienced “some soreness in his calf,” but “initial opinions are optimistic.”

Olave was added to the injury report after not being on it at all on Wednesday. Saints reporter Mike Triplett said that Olave was spotted during the option portion of media practice. This is fairly concerning, though we have scant information on the injury at this point. Friday’s status will be enormous for Olave.

Wright’s return and OT Ozzy Trapilo’s continued limited participation are both great signs. The Bears will need Wright against the Vikings’ aggressive, blitz-based defense on Sunday. Trapilo is working his way back from a season-ending patellar tendon rupture and has reportedly been making great progress.