What’s Happening
The Patriots have cut Kenny Britt . Britt was behind due to suffering a hamstring injury earlier this summer. With a bunch of veteran wide receivers like Cordarrelle Patterson and Eric Decker , Britt became expendable. Britt should be able to find work at some point this season.
According to offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, the Ravens organization is concerned with how many hits rookie QB Lamar Jackson is taking. This is always the issue with young mobile quarterbacks, they need to learn how to avoid contact and slide. Jackson has a ton of natural talent and may be a dynamic talent at some point in his career, but he is raw and still developing as a passer and the Ravens have a pretty entrenched starter in Flacco, so he is unlikely to make a major impact in 2019 barring injuries.
According to Mike Triplett of ESPN, Johnathan Williams is the “leading candidate” to inherit the role of Mark Ingram during Ingram’s suspension. With the release of Terrance West , Williams remains as obvious choice as the power back in the New Orleans offense. While he won’t have much of a long-term role, anything can happen and he could be a nice late round target for people looking for early season coverage for players that may miss time through the first few weeks like Ingram, Aaron Jones , and D’Onta Foreman. Williams has been very effective so far in the preseason as an inside runner with over five yards per carry.
Tampa Bay left tackle DonoVan Smith will miss 2-4 weeks with a knee sprain. This is awful news for a Tampa offense that has already not looked good and will be missing Jameis Winston for the beginning of the season. Smith is already looked as an average to below average left tackle, but no matter who fills in for him, they will likely be a downgrade for the offensive line. This dings both Peyton Barber and Ronald Jones who are competing to be the starting running back for the Bucs.
Quick hits
Saquon Barkley was cleared to return for individual drills. Barkley has been nursing a hamstring injury but appears to be working his way back to be ready for Week 1.
The Chiefs cut Charcandrick West . This was a cost cutting move, but West was unlikely to see much playing time behind Kareem Hunt and Spencer Ware .
Julio Jones will not play the rest of the preseason. This appears to be a precautionary move and nothing to necessarily worry about.
Kenny Stills returned to practice today, which should alleviate any concerns about his Week 1 availability.
Things to Watch
Will (and where) the Jets trade Teddy Bridgewater ? It feels like a foregone conclusion, but the Jets are being a bit coy on whether or not they will trade him. It is likely just a ploy to get the most on a return. The Broncos, Bills and Dolphins make the most sense as landing spots, but the Jets have reached out the Raiders about holdout Khalil Mack , so there may be a match there.
What is the split between the Dolphins running backs? According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, Frank Gore is expected to “play a lot.” Kenyan Drake has already been largely touted as a potential bust after his breakout season last year and this report should add some fuel to this fire. That being said, Gore is at the end of his career and is not the player Drake is and Drake is the superior pass catcher, so if the price on Drake drops tremendously, he could turn from a potential bust to a potential value.
How much does Carlos Hyde play in the third preseason game? Hyde left a practice over the weekend with a shoulder injury, which made fantasy owners being to salivate over the thought of Nick Chubb getting a larger role early in the season. However, the injury has been characterized as minor. With the preseason game in Week 3 being the traditional “dress rehearsal” for teams, whether Hyde plays and how much he plays may give further insight to how worried Cleveland about his injury.
How does Adrian Peterson look? Peterson signed a one-year deal after the loss of Derrius Guice for the season and injuries to virtually all of their remaining running backs. The signing of AD appears to signal a move that means that Washington was either worried about the long-term health and/or play of the remaining backs. Peterson was struggled most of 2018, but this is a better line and offense than he played with in Arizona.
Player News
Colts EDGE Samson Ebukam (Achilles) said he is expected to be cleared for training camp.
Ebukam suffered a torn Achilles in training camp last year and did not play in the 2024 season. He broke out in 2023 with a career-high 9.5 sacks in his first season with the Colts. He now has one year left on his deal and will be looking for a rebound season as he stares down free agency in 2026
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Steelers are “counting on” a 2025 jump for WR Roman Wilson.
Wilson, per Fowler, “looks like a different player than from his injury riddled rookie campaign.” Steelers general manager Omar Khan said in February that the team has “a lot of confidence” in Wilson, the 84th overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft who played just five offensive snaps as a rookie after suffering a serious hamstring injury in October. Wilson, entering his age-24 season, had 789 yards and 12 touchdowns on 49 catches in his final season at Michigan. He was 19th among all college wideouts in yards per route run in 2023. An injury-free offseason could position Wilson as the clear No. 2 receiver behind DK Metcalf in 2025.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Steelers “remain in contact with Aaron Rodgers and are hopeful that he’ll be a Steeler.”
Things have been quiet on the Rodgers front since the NFL Draft, though he remains a factor for the QB-needy Steelers, who on Wednesday traded George Pickens to Dallas in exchange for draft picks. That leaves DK Metcalf and perhaps Roman Wilson as the Steelers’ top two receivers. Metcalf’s fantasy fortunes would get a bit of a bump if Rodgers lands with the Steelers. The team’s commitment to a massively run-heavy approach should limit Metcalf’s upside, however. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio suggested Rodgers is waiting to sign with Pittsburgh until after the NFL’s schedule release “so that the league can’t saddle the Steelers with extra prime-time and/or short-week games.” We’ll continue to monitor the never-ending Rodgers saga.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Cowboys’ plan is for George Pickens “to play out his rookie deal.”
It looks like we won’t see any sort of long-term contract struck between Pickens and the Cowboys after the mercurial wideout was traded from the Steelers to Dallas in exchange for a 2026 third round draft pick and a 2027 fifth rounder. Dallas coaches and Jerry Jones likely want to see how Pickens, 24, acclimates to his new team after alienating coaches and teammates in Pittsburgh last season. Pickens, who has 2,841 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns over three NFL seasons, will immediately become the team’s No. 2 option behind CeeDee Lamb and a much-needed deep ball target for Dak Prescott.
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane reports TE Dallas Goedert will remain with the Eagles in 2025.
Goedert agreed to a $4 million salary cut for the upcoming season, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz. He will make $10 million in 2025 and be a free agent next offseason. It’s quite the turnabout after Eagles coaches and front office officials strongly implied for months that Goedert had played his last snap with the team. Goedert, 30, has missed 15 games over the past three seasons and was widely expected to be dealt during the NFL Draft. Goedert will be a solid top-12 fantasy option, well behind AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith in the team’s target pecking order. He averaged 4.2 catches and 49.6 receiving yards per game in 2024 and had the ninth highest EPA per target among tight ends.
Titans re-signed DT James Lynch.
Lynch, 26, a former fourth round selection by the Vikings, will return for a second season with the Titans after starting all 17 games in 2024. He had 20 tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack for the Titans last season. Pro Football Focus graded the Titans as last year’s fourth worst pass rush and ninth best run-defending unit.