NFL Player News

Hill suffered a “devastating, awful” (Mike Vrabel’s words) knee injury in OTAs. He had just signed a three-year contract, and his absence will likely have the Patriots relying more on Reggie Gilliam as a blocker while elevating the snap count of third-round draft pick Eli Raridon.

Fant wasn’t projected to be a major contributor to the Cowboys this year, but he was a solid depth tight end with special teams experience. He’s under contract for 2027.

It will be our first glimpse of Beck in an NFL uniform. Given the draft cost they paid for Beck, the 65th overall pick, it would behoove the Cardinals for him to be clearly better than everyone else out on the field Thursday and establish some sort of momentum to eventually get a starting role by the end of the season. We’ll see.

Per Panthers coach Dave Canales, he was evaluated for a concussion and passed, but “it looks like a stinger, so we’re going to evaluate him more over the next day or so.” Legette likely will take it easy for the next week or so, but this doesn’t look like a major injury and he wasn’t likely to play in the Hall Of Fame game either way.

It looks like Ladd McConkey could avoid the late-summer Keenan Allen rug pull. It’s good news for McConkey as new Chargers OC Mike McDaniel plans to get the wideout more short-area looks in 2026 — targets Allen might have soaked up if he had returned to LA. As recently as late May, Chargers GM Joe Hortiz said he had not “closed the door” on bringing Allen back for the 2026 season. McConkey, who by many measures was unlucky in 2025, has WR1 upside in McDaniel’s offense.

McDaniel said the team has worked diligently on the quick passing game during offseason practices and training camp. McDaniel said he knows Herbert can excel on the “long developing plays” but wants to create more easy drop backs with schemes that “nullify the pass rush” and allow Herbert to get the ball out quickly to his pass catchers. This should lead to plenty of easy-button targets for Ladd McConkey and the team’s tight ends as Quentin Johnston continues operating as Herbert’s primary deep ball guy. Under McDaniel, the Chargers will likely be run-first with a far more efficient passing attack than they had under former OC Greg Roman.

The deal includes $108 million in guarantees, according to Schefter. It’s a big payday for Flowers as he enters his fourth NFL season as the Ravens’ clearcut No. 1 wideout. Flowers has 237 receptions for 3,128 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns since entering the league in 2023, working mostly as a slot guy in the run-heavy Baltimore offense. Ravens coach Jesse Minter said in late July that he looks forward to getting Flowers the ball “in as many ways as possible” in what could be a new-look offense under first-year OC Declan Doyle. Last season Flowers was targeted on a healthy 25 percent of his pass routes, ranking 19th out of 115 qualifying wideouts.

Sadiq has missed recent training camp practices for undisclosed reasons. Now we know his recovery from surgery has not gone as expected. Though Glenn remains confident Sadiq — the team’s first round pick in the 2026 draft — will be OK for Week 1, fantasy managers should keep a close eye on Sadiq’s status in the coming weeks. For now the rookie is listed as the Jets TE2 behind Mason Taylor.

It’s a blow to the Eagles as first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion uses training camp to install his system and ensure the team’s key players — including Lemon and Smith — are acclimated to the offense before the regular season. Hopefully the Eagles’ top two wideouts don’t miss much time with the soft tissue injuries. We can expect Eagles coaches to be cautious with Smith, the team’s new No. 1 receiver, and Lemon, who will likely play primarily from the slot in 2026. The Athletic’s Zach Berman said this week that the team “seems committed to finding ways to get [Lemon] the ball.”

Boutte, according to Patriots beat writers and coaches, has functioned as Drake Maye’s favorite target, especially downfield, while A.J. Brown struggles to connect with Maye while dealing with consistent coverage from all-pro CB Christian Gonzalez. “If [Boutte] keeps this up, he’s either increasing his value on the trade market or playing his way into a meaningful role with the Pats,” Graff said. Boutte had been rumored as a trade candidate after the Patriots acquired Brown and Romeo Doubs this offseason. He should be drafted in all 12-team fantasy formats in the coming weeks.

It’s a concerning development since pass protection cost Henderson major snaps and reps during his disappointing 2025 rookie campaign. Graff said Henderson during training camp has “looked a bit like last season: big, explosive plays, but just enough mistakes in pass protection that it feels like a risk to use him on third downs.” Without serious improvement in his blocking, Henderson’s role likely won’t change all that much in 2026. Meanwhile, Rhamondre Stevenson, per Graff, “has done enough to keep the Patriots’ backfield workload at 50-50.” New England’s backfield is once again shaping up to be frustrating for fantasy purposes in 2026.