THE WALKING WOUNDED
Dez Bryant is back at practice Thursday though the club hasn’t pushed him much at all since his August 6th hamstring tweak. He should be fine… if he can avoid the MMA event he often starts at practice. Bryant is a beast who seemingly is always dealing with something on, or off, the field.
Julian Edelman has an ankle issue and he hasn’t practiced since August 2nd. With all the concern about Tom Brady, and all the talk about taking Rob Gronkowski in the first or second round of fantasy drafts, the injury to Edelman has gone rather unreported this spring. A huge part of the Pats offense, Edelman caught 105 balls for 1,056 yards two years ago, and was on pace to surpass both numbers last season if not for two missed games (92-972). At this point we have been led to believe he will be fine. Notice the emphasis on think. As for his teammate Brandon LaFell, there’s much less certainty (perhaps that is why the club signed Reggie Wayne?). All we know for certain with LaFell is that he is not in a walking boot, and it appears that he is walking around without a noticeable limp. Still, it’s sounding like a trip to the PUP list is possible with the specter of him not being ready for Week 1 is growing by the day.
Mike Evans has a hamstring issue. The Bucs say it’s no big deal. Well, it’s a big enough issue that he won’t appear in either of the Bucs final two preseason games. Makes sense to rest him for the 17 days until the first game, I get it, but this is still a bit of a concern for a player who is dealing with a rookie quarterback, and let’s not forget that 42 percent of his total point production last season game in just three games in a PPR setup. Hopefully he will be more consistent in year two – and healthy.
Michael Floyd is three weeks removed from injuring his fingers, and he had the stiches removed last week. The Cardinals still hope he will be active for Week 1, but it’s not (a) clear he will or (b) what his role will be with John Brown surging and Larry Fitzgerald a possession receiver. While his ADP has plummeted, most seem to forget that Floyd is 6’2” weighs 220 lbs and was, 12 months ago, an ascending star in the fantasy game. Remember late in drafts that Floyd caught 66 passes for 1,054 yards two years ago, and in a dreadful 2014 he still caught six touchdown passes. A really strong option as a depth wideout.
DeSean Jackson is soft and small (5’10”, 178), always has been. He’s also still very fast at age 28 and coming off back-to-back 1,150 yard seasons. Take a look at his track record though. Over his last six seasons he’s appeared in 16 games just one time. He’s currently out with a shoulder issue that shouldn’t preclude him from being full-go for takeoff in Week 1. It’s just a matter of when rocket crashes back to earth.
Alshon Jeffery continues to miss time with a calf injury (more on the Bears wideouts below). With each passing hour he seems less likely to play in the Bears game this week but the Bears continue to insist that he will be fine for Week 1 which is 17 days away. Seems like that’s a fair assessment at this point given that how important Jeffery is to what they want to do this season. With Brandon Marshall wearing J-E-T-S green/white this season Jeffery will be looked at to at least match, if not exceed, his previous two season average of 87 receptions, 1,267 yards and 8.5 touchdowns.
Calvin Johnson is said to be OK, but the Lions don’t want to take any chances as he won’t be asked to suit up in any preseason game.
Johnson is only 30 years old but he last appeared in 16 games in 2012 as he missed three games last season and two in 2013. He’s still an elite game changing talent, but he’s also growing increasingly difficult to trust.
Jordy Nelson is done for the 2015 season after injuring his ACL. What will the Packers do? Check out the Filling the Void piece on Packers’ wideouts.
DeVante Parker is missing time with a foot injury. We all knew that. The Dolphins, the players, and his agent kept saying ‘yeah he’s slowed, but he will be fine for Week 1.’ Liars. We heard Wednesday that there is now growing uncertainty about the availability of Parker for Week 1 as we’re 2 ½ weeks from that first game and Parker still can’t cut on his foot (he hopes to begin individual drills next week). For more on the Dolphins wideout situation see this Filling the Void piece.
Breshad Perriman, a big-time favorite of our in-house football expert Jeff Mans, has a great situation in Baltimore. With Torrey Smith now a member of the Niners Perriman has a ready-made spot in the starting lineup. There’s also the fact that the Ravens are dealing with uncertainty at the tight end position – Dennis Pitta (hip) may or may not play this season and Maxx Williams hasn’t impressed to this point – and Steve Smith is aging, small and slowing with his best move being getting inside the head of defensive backs with his yapping. Alas, the 6’2”, 218 lbs rookie wideout continues to be sidelined with a sprained PCL in his knee leaving the door wide open for Kama Aiken to surge forward. Test results have confirmed the diagnosis of a sprain, but the knee still isn’t right causing significant concern in Ravens land that Perriman may not be able to suit up for Week 1. A high upside, high risk play at the moment is Breshad, especially early in the year.
Eddie Royal will need to step forward with Kevin White being potentially done for the year (Marquess Wilson is missing time with a hamstring injury as the entire Bears WR corps is an utter disaster at the moment). Sounds like a good thing on the surface. Alas, Royal is dealing with a hip issue of his own and he is being listed as questionable for the Saturday preseason game of the Bears. No one seems overly concerned, but with the role that Royal is expected to fill I would be. Note that though he’s scored 15 times the last two seasons he scored four of those touchdowns in Weeks 3-4 last year and five scores in Weeks 1-2 of 2013. That means that nine of those 15 touchdowns have come in four games or, from the other side, he’s scored six times in the other 27 contests the last two seasons.
Emmanuel Sanders has been out of action for nearly three weeks due to a hamstring injury. Nearly three weeks. The Broncos still think he will be good to go for Week 1, but this is certainly a situation to continue monitoring since we all know that hamstring injuries can linger for long periods of time. Given that Sanders is 5’11”, 180 lbs, he can’t afford to be giving up any of his hops. Sanders caught 101 passes for 1,404 yards and nine scores last season. A pullback is likely, but if he’s even at 80 percent of last year that would equate to 82 receptions, 1,125 yards and seven scores. That’s still a solid WR2 in PPR, right?
Roddy White is having surgery on his elbow but the club expects that he will be good to go by Week 1 for the Falcons. Increasingly injury prone, White is a risky WR3 option as he enters his age 33 season. White has missed two games in each of the last two seasons, and he continues to have issues with his knee that periodically needs to be drained (there were plenty that thought he would undergo surgery on the knee this offseason but he declined). The arrow is pointing down on White, not to the point you pass on him, but certainly to the point that it’s prudent to avoid targeting him.
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Player News
Panthers released TE Jordan Matthews.
Matthews converted to tight end a few years ago and hasn’t made much noise at the position. The change has, however, likely kept him in the league for a few more seasons. He appeared in four games with the Panthers last year but didn’t record any stats on offense. The Panthers also released or waived WR Dax Milne, C Andrew Raym, and TE Colin Granger.
Dolphins released LS Blake Ferguson.
The team also waived CB Ryan Cooper Jr., DT Neil Farrell and OL Chasen Hines. Ferguson has been the team’s long snapper for five seasons and earned a three-year contract extension just before the 2023 season. He should be able to find work snapping footballs farther than the average snap elsewhere in the league.
DetroitLions.com’s Tim Twentyman believes rookie WR Isaac TeSlaa “could make his earliest impact on special teams.”
It’s not much of a surprise, as most rookies cut their teeth with special teams duties. Twentyman mentioned return duties as a possibility, though the former Razorback never returned kicks or punts in college. At 6'4/212 with 4.43 wheels, TeSlaa is an explosive athlete who never translated his physical traits to on-field production at Arkansas. The Lions clearly saw potential for him to do so in the pros and traded two future third-round picks to move up to No. 70 overall for him. It’s going to be a slow burn for TeSlaa in the pros, making him a dynasty-only fantasy option.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said the team does not “have any feelings on competition” when asked about the quarterback room.
O’Connell was asked about a potential quarterback competition on the Rich Eisen Show Wednesday and was unclear on whether J.J. McCarthy would have to compete to start. He said, “we’ve got an obligation as coaches to put our players in position to attack that competition phase.” O’Connell discussed first putting Brett Rypien and the newly acquired Sam Howell in a position to play before any competition would occur. He continued that McCarthy is “owning it” this offseason and is taking snaps from starting center Ryan Kelly. After missing last season with a torn meniscus, McCarthy has been ramping up workouts in the offseason and is the front-runner to start for the Vikings in 2025. As of now, Howell looks to be reinforcement at the backup spot in case it turns out McCarthy is not ready to start.
Texans re-signed DT Foley Fatukasi.
Fatukasi initially joined the Texans last offseason on a one-year contract. The 30-year-old was a rotational defensive lineman, tallying four tackles for loss and one sack. He returns to Houston for 2025, where he will be a part of a deep Texans front seven.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports Tyreek Hill’s second wrist surgery was part of the original plan and his timeline remains unchanged.
Hill announced the second surgery on social media and Pelissero quickly added some context to the situation. The speedy receiver suffered the wrist injury just before the start of the season and it lingered throughout the year, though he never missed a game because of it. If the second surgery truly is a non-story, an offseason to recover might be what Hill needs to return to form after a down 2024 season. On the other hand, Hill is 31 years old, played his worst football last year, and his offense prioritized targets for Jonnu Smith and De’Von Achane. As it stands, Hill might have the highest risk-reward split in fantasy drafts.