2023 Fantasy Football Round Up June 2: Jimmy Garoppolo & DeAndre Hopkins News Updates from NFL OTAs
Look, not everyone has time to sit around and see every NFL news story or rumor as you prep for 2023 fantasy football drafts. Not even me. It’s hard enough for us to keep track of the important stuff, like the NFL Sunday Ticket deal on YouTube TV expiring in four days on June 6th (we’re not affiliated with them at all, I just don’t want you to miss out). The good news is you’ve got me here to look out for you by going back through the week to find any stories from NFL OTAs or any fantasy football rumors, roster cuts, NFL trades, contracts – you name it! What we’re going to do here is first cover the overarching stories that all NFL fans will care about, like Jimmy Garoppolo, Aaron Rodgers, and DeAndre Hopkins dominating the latest NFL headlines. Then at the bottom, we’ll take a closer look at NFL OTA updates for the fantasy football folks so that you can obsess over every little detail and ruin your dynasty fantasy football rankings. Or, overreact to the latest NFL news updates in your fantasy football best ball drafts on Underdog Fantasy (we are affiliated with them - use promo code FANTASYALARM and they will match 100% of your deposit up to $100). Fantasy football ADP is always changing and these recent NFL news items could impact the 2023 season. So you can relax all summer then just pop into this article every Friday to see what you missed (here’s last week’s)!
Latest NFL Fantasy Football News
DeAndre Hopkins Visits with Former Team and Former Teammate
Hopkins was released by the Arizona Cardinals last week and multiple sources have now reported that one of his first stops in free agency was to his former team - the Houston Texans. Considering his bad blood was with former coach and current Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brian, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for him to return. There's also a lot of smoke that he could reunite with former teammate Deshaun Watson with the Cleveland Browns.
New Information Revealed Regarding Jimmy Garoppolo Raiders Contract
When it was announced Jimmy Garoppolo was signed, the original press conference was pushed back a couple of days which didn’t seem like a big deal. Well, as it turns out, it might have been a bigger deal than we thought. As the tweet below lays out, a failed physical led the guaranteed portion of his contract to be removed.
Fire Brian Gutenkunst or Trade Aaron Rodgers?
A source close to the situation is reporting that Aaron Rodgers’ agent requested Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy either fire the GM or trade Aaron Rodgers. It’s no secret that Rodgers wanted to be more involved with personnel decisions but this is the first we are hearing of an ultimatum. Rodgers has of course been traded to the New York Jets where he’s seemingly bringing along the personnel he likes - like OC Nathaniel Hackett and wide receivers Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb.
NFL Gambling Saga Continues
In last week’s rendition of our weekly round up, we mentioned rumors that there were more investigations into potential gambling by NFL players. We don’t know for sure if other teams are involved but it has since been clarified that there is a potential fifth player on the Lions being investigated.
Minnesota Vikings Pay Off Stadium Early
It’s easy to complain about major sports teams using public funds to build extravagant stadiums but, at least in this case, we can give credit where it is due. The Minnesota Vikings have reportedly paid off their stadium loans early which will save taxpayers $226 million in interest.
NFLPA owed $41.8M following Crypto Collapse
It’s no secret that cryptocurrency can be volatile and the NFL Players Association found that out the hard way. It seems the NFLPA had an agreement in place with a company using the technology that should have paid out north of $40 million but has been unable to collect the debt from the company, OneTeam Partners, LLC.
Los Angeles Rams DC Raheem Morris Saves Drowning Child
Raheem Morris acted quickly when he saw a three year old boy drowning in the pool at the Encore Las Vegas hotel - his actions likely saved the boy’s life. The boy reportedly had no pulse when Morris pulled him out and brought him to lifeguards. He then ran to get an automatic external defibrillator (AED) which the doctors on seen were able to use on the child. Add “hero” to Raheem Morris’s resume next offseason when he could be in the running for a head coaching gig.
Kenny Pickett Has Car Stolen During Radio Interview
Be careful where you park your 2023 Genesis SUV in Monroeville. Pickett was participating in an interview with 93.7 The Fan when someone jacked his wheels. The vehicle was later recovered and an arrest was made.
2023 Fantasy Football Camp Hype
You wouldn’t let a couple of unpadded practices in late May affect your fantasy football rankings, would you? Of course not, me neither.
- Trey Lance is getting all the first team reps over Sam Darnold while Brock Purdy recovers from off-season elbow surgery. Purdy is expected to resume throwing this week.
- Robert Saleh is “very optimistic” that Breece Hall will be ready for Week 1 following a torn ACL last season, saying he’s already hit 22 mph on field on the GPS at practice. I will say, there is a big difference between returning to practice for Week 1 and being on the field in May with three months to get into game show so we are optimistic as well.
- After more than a year away from football, Doug Pederson says Calvin Ridley will be brought along slowly in early workouts.
- Multiple Patriots beat writers were reporting two similar takes from Patriots OTAs, including Patriots.com’s Evan Lazar. Ty Montgomery could be in line for the passing down job out of the backfield. And Tyquan Thornton looks good. Of course, it’s not hard to look good when there are no pads/hitting and you run a 4.28 40 which is literally in the top 100th percentile for the position.
- Matt LaFleur was gushing over rookie tight end Luke Musgrave saying he “looks different” and “can flat out fly”. That and the fact that he’s working out with the first team is what we like to hear for fantasy football.
- Jamaal Williams showed up to New Orleans in Jamaal Williams fashion with the anime visor
- Geno Smith as been quite impressed with rookie first round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba, saying that he’s a “smooth route runner” and that the NFL game is “not too big for him”.
- Kyren Williams has reportedly been splitting reps with Cam Akers at running back to start OTAs.
- Rookie QB CJ Stroud is already working with the first team offense ahead of Davis Mills and is “way, way ahead of pace”
- Despite playing all 17 games and finishing as the WR39 statistically in PPR, George Pickens feels he was “snubbed for the Pro Bowl” last year with a year 2 goal of making it.
- Tony Pollard says he is not only back at full speed but “feeling faster” following surgery on a broken bone/high ankle sprain.
- Giants QB Eli Manning said that Darren Waller is “an impressive athlete” who is “fun to work with”.
- Here’s a quick list of how some other players “look” in OTAs so far, according to beat writers:
- Trevor Lawrence looks “great”
- Rashid Shaheed looks “great”
- Clyde Edwards-Helaire looks “great”
- Devon Achane looks “like he could be a player”
- Treylon Burks looks “solid”
- A.J. Brown looks “bigger”
- James Cook looks “bigger” and “quicker”
- Tua Tagovailoa looks “bigger” and “stronger”
- Russell Wilson looks “good" and "sharp”
- Mac Jones looks “confident”
- Greg Dulcich looks “the part”
- Bill Belichick looks “inspirational”
- Zach Wilson looks “bad”
- Jaelan Phillips looks “shredded”
- Andrew Booth Jr looks “bigger, stronger, faster” - Daft Punk
- Jordan Davis looks “ready”
- Baker Mayfield looks like Baker Mayfield
Related NFL Links:
- 2023 Fantasy Football ADP Report
- Fantasy Football Best Ball Advice
- Fantasy Football Dynasty League Strategy
- 2023 Fantasy Football Round Up May 26: Jayden Reed and Trey Lance Make News at OTA's
- 2023 Fantasy Football Best Ball: Van Jefferson Among Fantasy Football ADP Risers
- 2023 Fantasy Football Player Profile: Greg Dulcich, TE Denver Broncos
- 2023 Fantasy Football Best Ball Strategy: The Potential Impact of a Saquon Barkley Holdout
Player News
Dolphins signed No. 13 overall pick DT Kenneth Grant to a four-year contract.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Grant will sign his contract today. The former Michigan defensive tackle is expected to fill a major void left by Christian Wilkins, who left for the Raiders in the 2024 offseason. Grant totaled 32 tackles, three sacks, and seven TFLs in his final season at Michigan and excelled at stopping the run while also generating 27 pressures in his final season, per PFF.
Beat reporter John Hendrix reports that free agent WR Donovan Peoples-Jones is among the 16 players that the Saints will host for their rookie minicamp.
Peoples-Jones last played regular season snaps with the Lions back in 2023, when he caught 13-of-24 targets for 155 yards. He is highly unlikely to return to fantasy relevance at this point but could perhaps sign on as a special teams contributor.
Titans signed fourth-round pick WR Elic Ayomanor to a four-year contract.
Ayomanor will now begin learning behind Calvin Ridley. Although Ayomanor is unlikely to find a meaningful role in year one, dynasty managers should note his status as training camp gets underway this summer. The former Stanford receiver flashed big-play ability in his two college seasons.
Buccaneers signed seventh-round pick WR Tez Johnson to a four-year contract.
Johnson will serve as a rotational deep-threat option for Baker Mayfield. His thin frame (5'10/154) simply does not lend itself to the repeated hits one incurs in a full-time role. Johnson did earn 100-plus targets in his two seasons at Oregon, though. His big-play style make him a better fit in best ball for now, pending any major on-field breakthroughs.
Giants waived DT Casey Rogers.
Rogers was a 2024 undrafted free agent and logged 33 defensive snaps for the Giants in his rookie season. He is credited with zero tackles and/or sacks. He may find his way onto another roster as a practice squad option.
Vikings signed third-round pick WR Tai Felton to a four-year contract.
Felton is quietly in play to challenge Vikings No. 3 WR Jalen Nailor in training camp. Nailor (5'11/190) caught 28-of-42 targets for 414 yards and six touchdowns in his first season as a starter last year, with the latter category buoying his fantasy productivity. Felton (6'1/183), meanwhile, caught 96-of-143 targets for 1,119 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 2.32 yards per route run in his final college season. Fantasy managers should monitor Felton’s training camp reports this summer, as he could have a matchup-based WR5 role if everything falls into place.