NFL Player News

The veteran linebacker notched 44 starts across 65 appearances for the Chiefs while on his rookie contract, a stretch that also included two Super Bowl wins. Chenal averaged 57 tackles and 1.8 sacks per season those four years and earns a significant raise with his new franchise. It is unclear where he is likeliest to play considering the team already has Frankie Luvu and Bobby Wagner, but the kind of money invested hints at significant playing time.

Brooks opened team drills as the Packers’ starting running back on Wednesday. Fellow backup RB Pierre Strong then subbed in, taking first-team reps as well. Starting RB Josh Jacobs was arrested on Tuesday for domestic abuse and was not present. Presumed RB MarShawn Lloyd practiced on Tuesday, but was limited to individual drills for an undisclosed reason on Wednesday. Injuries derailed Lloyd’s first two NFL seasons, so his absence is worth monitoring. Brooks

It’s possible this is just a maintenance-related coaching decision, but it is still slightly concerning. Injuries have limited Lloyd to just 10 offensive snaps through two NFL seasons. Packers starting RB Josh Jacobs was arrested on Tuesday and was not present on Wednesday, allowing the backups to take first-team snaps. Per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Lloyd “took part in team drills during Tuesday’s closed session but did only individual work Wednesday.” Packers RB Chris Brooks began team drills with the first-team offense before subbing out for RB Pierre Strong. The Packers had the day off on Thursday and will resume practicing tomorrow. The Packers “remain optimistic that the powerful and speedy Lloyd can repay the team for their patience,” but he needs to retake the field soon if he hopes to prove his reliability. Hopefully, Lloyd is back in action.

Stefanski went on to explain that he believes accuracy is “the most important trait at the position,” after referring to Tagovailoa’s accuracy as being “God-given.” Stefanski then quickly added that “all” of the Falcons quarterbacks have this innate trait, but it was easy to see that his focus was on the former Dolphins quarterback. Tagovailoa’s downfield passing showed signs of decline last season, but he has evidently earned a public compliment from his new head coach. The battle for the Falcons’ starting job between Tagovailoa and QB Michael Penix continues.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan broke the news this afternoon. This is a bummer. Earlier this month, The Athletic’s Vic Tafur said he believed Guerendo was “buried” on the depth chart and will likely “be looking for a new team” at some point. The team could end up releasing him with an injury settlement, but we suppose some sort of reserve list placement is possible. 49ers RBs Jordan James and Kaelon Black can be expected to compete for RB2 duties at this time. The team also signed RBs Jordan Mims and Jermar Jefferson today.

McCormick could get a chance to compete for a roster spot elsewhere. The 49ers correspondingly signed RB Jordan Mims, formerly of the Titans, and RB Jermar Jefferson, formerly of the Cardinals. The 49ers also placed S Darrick Forrest on injured reserve.

Bowers’ 2025 season was hampered by a PCL sprain and bone bruise that he suffered in Week 1, which eventually led to an injured reserve placement in Week 17. The 23-year-old tight end is now set to operate as coach Klint Kubiak’s No. 1 pass-catcher in what should be a far more fantasy-friendly offensive scheme. Kubiak endearingly referred to Bowers as “a football robot from heaven” last week. He’s a candidate to compete for the overall TE1 spot this season.

Earlier this month, NBC Sports Houston’s Aaron Wilson reported that Dell is “doing well,” and has been running and cutting, but is not yet 100 percent healthy. Today, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans refrained from updating Dell’s expected recovery timeline, saying, “when that time is set for him to be back, he’ll be back.”

Jordan is participating in some capacity. Per Ryans, Jordan “had a really big play yesterday on a choice route.” Jordan, 25, has played just two games in each of the last two seasons, having torn an ACL in September 2024 and another in August 2025. If he can remain healthy, Jordan will compete for a backup role this season.

Regarding Higgins’ on-field development, Ryans is “really excited to see how he’s going to look this season.” Ryans covered all the bases here. It’s always nice to hear that a player worked hard to prepare for organized team activities, but physical improvements are only half the battle. Hopefully, positive reports on Higgins’ route running and film studies are soon to follow.

Reid gave a meandering response when asked about the team’s discussions with the league regarding Rice’s latest off-field issues. Rice is currently serving a 30-day jail sentence for violating his probation. Per Reid, the team spoke with the league, and “as far as any further ado to that, there’s been no talk about anything further.” Reid said only, “don’t know,” when reporters tried to clarify whether Rice might be suspended. The Chiefs are evidently “moving forward, just normal as we go here.” Drawing a firm conclusion from this is difficult, but we suppose that the fact that the league did not bring up a possible suspension when speaking with the team is a positive sign.