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.