NFL News & Rumors This Week: Trades, Holdouts & Injuries + Fantasy Help
Less than three weeks. Less than three weeks until the Baltimore Ravens face the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday, September 5th and the NFL season kicks off. Less than three weeks until the quest for Super Bowl LIX and fantasy football championships alike begins. It’s coming, folks. And it’s time to start getting fired up!
And, the closer we get to the season, the more important the NFL news and rumors get. We obviously won’t have all the answers – football wouldn’t be fun if we knew what was going to happen. But we can do our best to predict it. And staying plugged in is how we get our edge.
So, as we always do on Friday, let’s look at the major NFL news and rumors this week in this first section and then, at the bottom, we’ll dig into the rumors and rumblings for fantasy football purposes.
Top News This Week: NFL Holdouts & Trade Rumors
These have been ongoing for a few players. Here’s the latest:
- Pass rusher Haason Reddick continues to hold out from Jets camp and has requested a trade.
- The 49ers are still trying to work out a deal to keep Brandon Aiyuk. If that doesn’t work, the framework of a trade with the Steelers is apparently on the table.
- Trent Williams also continues to hold out from 49ers camp. He’s arguably the most important piece of that offense. Kyle Shanahan is “optimistic” that a deal will get done.
- Jerry Jones originally said he was “in no rush” to pay CeeDee Lamb. Now he is “conscientiously” working on a deal.
- Ja'Marr Chase continues to hold out for a new deal. The two sides want to work out a deal, so it’s just a matter of the details. Chase almost certainly wants a deal in line with the four-year, $140 million deal Justin Jefferson received.
- Alvin Kamara has been missing from practice, but it’s not contract-related – it’s related to a back issue. Something to monitor.
Top NFL News This Week: Patriots Trade Matthew Judon To Falcons
- One holdout has been resolved – the Patriots have traded pass rusher Matthew Judon to the Falcons for a third round pick. The Falcons have not offered the disgruntled pass rusher a contract as of yet, so we’ll have to see if they expect him to play on the same deal that he refused to play on in New England.
Top NFL News This Week: Former Broncos Safety Justin Simmons Signs With Falcons
- So, it’s not one, but two big defensive moves for the Falcons as they land the two-time Pro Bowl safety for one-year, $8 million. The Falcons are making a serious push this NFL offseason to compete for a Super Bowl.
Top NFL News This Week: Jacksonville Approves Using Pension Funds To Pay For Stadium
- Economist Geoffrey Propheter dug into the public documents regarding the $775 million in subsidies for stadium upgrades for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and what he found might not go over well with some folks. Apparently, the money used to pay for upgrades to EverBank stadium will come from public pension funds.
Top News This Week: NFL Training Camp Injuries Continue
- J.J. McCarthy underwent a successful meniscus repair that will end his 2024 season.
- Bengals running back Chris Evans suffered a torn patellar tendon which will end his 2024 season as well.
- Jahmyr Gibbs is dealing with a hamstring issue but is expected to be fine for Week 1.
- Matthew Stafford also suffered a hamstring injury on Wednesday.
- Malik Nabers was stepped on and suffered a minor ankle sprain in practice.
- Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison was carted off the field with an ankle injury.
- Bills linebacker Matt Milano tore his bicep – a return in December could be possible.
- Bills WR Chase Claypool was placed on season-ending IR.
- Chiefs WR Hollywood Brown suffered a sternoclavicular joint dislocation and is expected to miss some time to start the season.
- Brandin Cooks was seen “heading to the injury tent” on Wednesday.
- Diontae Johnson is day-to-day with a groin sprain.
Fantasy Football News & Rumors
This section is dedicated to fantasy-relevant rumblings from around the various off-season practices and meetings:
- Sleeper Fantasy introduced a new feature that allows for provisional players that can be auto-swapped in if the starter is out.
- Broncos Quarterback Bo Nix looked pretty good in his debut – he’s on track to be QB1.
- Ravens tight end Mark Andrews was reportedly in a car accident but only suffered minor injuries.
- Matt LaFleur says the Packers don’t have a No 1. wide receiver; they have a lot of them.
- In a similar fashion, Mike McDaniel said that they “might not stop at two” co-starters at RB; maybe they will have four.
- Tavon Austin officially announced his retirement from the NFL.
- The Patriots released former star WR JuJu Smith-Schuster.
- The Vikings believe T.J. Hockenson will return at “some point during the first half of the season”.
- The Chargers reportedly have “major plans for Quentin Johnston”.