NFL News & Rumors This Week: Contract Extensions, Training Camp Injuries
It’s here! We had our first NFL preseason game last night with the Hall of Fame Game between the Chicago Bears vs. Houston Texans. And sure, none of the starters played. And it was also rained out and canceled in the third quarter.
But it was still football nonetheless! Pads, whistles, flags, touchdowns, field goals – you name it! And soon enough, we’ll have a BUNCH of preseason games.
Top NFL News & Rumors This Past Week
August is the month of fantasy football drafts so it’s our job to keep our fingers on the pulse of these NFL training camps. As always, let’s hit on the “real” NFL news then, at the bottom, we’ll cover the rumors and speculation for you deep cut fantasy gamers!
NFL Contract Extensions: Big Paydays For Jordan Love, Tua Tagovailoa, More
- Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love received a four-year, $220M extension.
- Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa received a four-year, $212M extension.
- Chicago Bears WR DJ Moore received a four-year, $110M extension.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers OT Tristan Wirfs received a five-year, $140M extension.
- Detroit Lions OT Taylor Decker received a three-year, $60 million extension.
2024 NFL Training Camp Injuries Begin
- Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was diagnosed with an injury to the plantar fascia in his right foot. He’s in a boot but is expected to start the season.
- Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith suffered a knee and hip injury that will keep him out indefinitely. Sam Howell would be the QB1 if it lingers.
- Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins suffered a knee injury that could keep him out 4-6 weeks.
- Patriots DT Christian Barmore was diagnosed with blood clots – there is no timetable for his return.
- In a scary incident, D’Onta Foreman was transported by helicopter to the hospital after a hit directly to the head in practice. He is reportedly back at camp today, which is great news.
- Robert Tonyan was carted off with a back issue and is expected to miss time.
The Surprise Onside Kick Is Dead
- The new NFL rules make it impossible to do a surprise onside kick. Because of that, onside kicks will need to be announced in advance. The new rules also indicate that they are illegal before the 4th quarter and only a losing team can perform one. Although rare, it is a fun piece of the game that will be missed. Shoutout to Sean Payton and the Saints for pulling it off in Super Bowl XLIV.
Bill Belichick Joins Underdog Fantasy
- Bill Belichick has found a home for 2024, but it will not be with a coaching staff. It’s been announced that he’ll have his own show that will be produced by Underdog Fantasy, a fantasy gaming platform. There, Belichick will have the freedom to break down film his own way, which should be an interesting watch.
NFL Cracking Down On “Cheat Motion” Used By Dolphins, 49ers
- This is an interesting one because it doesn’t seem like any major changes to the rules have been made – it more seems like “emphasis”. Essentially, “cheat motion” sees a guy coming from the slot and quickly speeding to the outside where they can then use that momentum to “get vertical” quickly. At times, they may even round things just before the snap and see if they can stretch the rules to some degree. The new wording also includes the term “actions are not abrupt”, which could be interpreted as flags being thrown even if the player is not moving forward. Will be interesting to see how it is interpreted.
“Any eligible backfield player who changes his stance does not have to come to a complete stop prior to the snap, as long as his actions are not abrupt (false start) or forward (illegal motion)."
Houston Texans DE Denico Autry Suspended For 6 Games
- Denico Autry was suspended for 6 games for violating the NFL policy against performance-enhancing drugs. As with every player that has ever been suspended based on the PED policy, he released a statement saying that he did not intentionally or knowingly ingest any banned substance. By my count, there has yet to be an NFL player that has ever done steroids on purpose or gotten caught doing so.
Fantasy Football News & Rumors
This section is dedicated to fantasy-relevant rumblings from around the various off-season practices and meetings:
- Panthers running back Rashaad Penny has announced his retirement.
- Former Bears running back Tarik Cohen has also announced his retirement.
- Chase Brown has been taking the majority of the reps with the first team for the Bengals.
- A couple of reports have suggested the Patriots rookie QB Joe Milton is outshining the QB they took no. 3 overall, Drake Maye.
- After Daniel Jones has had some rough practices, there are already calls for Drew Lock to get first team reps.
- Jets coach Robert Saleh said that QB Aaron Rodgers is unlikely to play this preseason while recovering from an Achilles injury.
- There have been reports of multiple fights on back-to-back days at Steelers training camp as well as a heated exchange between George Pickens and WR coach Zach Azzanni over “lack of effort”:
- The steam for Saints undrafted WR Mason Tipton continues to grow.
- John Harbaugh reportedly said that Ravens running back Justice Hill is “going to play a lot” alongside Derrick Henry.
- We had our first football game. The most impressive player? Obviously, that would be Bears WR Collin Johnson:
- T.J. Hockenson reportedly looks good as he attempts to recover from a torn ACL.
- Joe Mixon is making progress with the quad injury that has kept him out of practice.
- Zac Robinson says that Tyler Allgeier is going to have a big role. And we thought we were safe with Arthur Smith gone.
- As of now, it’s being reported that Brian Thomas is the WR4 in Jacksonville. He is a rookie, after all.
Player News
Ravens GM Eric DeCosta said “I never know what’s going to happen” when asked if he expects Mark Andrews to be with the team in 2025.
“I can tell you this, Mark Andrews is a warrior. He’s a great player and we’re in the business of keeping as many great players as we can,” DeCosta continued. It’s a bit of a departure from John Harbaugh saying he “fully expected” Andrews to be here in late March. Reading between the lines, it sounds like Andrews may be available in a trade but that nobody has really given the Ravens an offer they’d consider feasible. We’d bet on Andrews returning still, but it is noteworthy that DeCosta wouldn’t commit to it.
NewOrleans Football’s Mike Triplett’s “best guess” is that Derek Carr is “trying to force a divorce” with the Saints.
“Either a) he legitimately is like my shoulder has reached a point where I think I’d rather take care of it than play this season or ... b) it’s some sort of threat, like we asked for you guys to release us, you didn’t, we were upset when you just restructured the contract instead of trying to work out a release, so now here’s another path for us not showing us, and maybe now we’ll force a release,” Triplett continued. “I don’t know how there’s any resolution from this,” Triplett added. The Athletic’s Diana Russini added that she believes Carr does not want the “Kirk Cousins treatment” where a team is not committed to him long-term. Triplett and Nick Underhill believe that Carr wanted out and was very upset when the Saints restructured his contract and forced him to stay. It sure feels like Carr is intent on not playing for the Saints this season.
Chargers LB Daiyan Henley (shoulder) expects to be ready for training camp.
Henley had surgery to repair a torn labrum that he played through for the final four months of the season. Henley told ESPN’s Kris Rhim that he expects to be “100 percent” before training camp. If for whatever reason Henley is slow coming back it could be an opening for 2024 third-rounder Junior Colson.
Panthers GM Dan Morgan said Georgia LB Jalon Walker would be a 3-4 linebacker in Carolina’s system.
While Morgan also spent the press conference telling interested teams the Panthers would be willing to move down, it was a little more telling that he spoke about the Georgia LB prospect in such finished terms. He didn’t do so at the combine. The Panthers have widely been perceived as interested in drafting a defender at No. 8 overall and Walker would be a logical fit for them.
Giants are hosting a private workout with Louisville QB Tyler Shough.
Shough, a rising name in the process per Dianna Russini, is one of several draft-eligible quarterbacks the Giants are doing late work on including Shedeur Sanders and Jalen Milroe. Shough’s rookie year will also be his age-26 season, so he’d be a bit of a weird developmental pick to hang behind Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston. Perhaps the Giants think he could compete for the job right away, or be ready to play the second half of the season.
Tyron Smith retired from the NFL after 14 seasons.
Smith, who played right tackle in college at USC before flipping to the left side in the pros, retires with a borderline Hall of Fame resume. He was named to the Hall of Fame’s All-2010s team and finished first-team All-Pro twice along with three placements on the second team. Smith was especially dominant over a 2013-2016 peak wherein he finished with an 85.9 PFF grade or higher in all four seasons. Injuries slowed him in his later years, including in a 10-game stint with the Jets that concluded with him on injured reserve with a neck injury in 2024. He’ll sign a one-day contract to retire as a Cowboy.