Browns QB Baker Mayfield appeared to injure his left arm while trying to make a tackle on an INT in the 2nd quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Texans. Stay tuned for an update. QB Case Keenum is Cleveland's backup.
Update: Mayfield returned on the next series.
Cowboys DE Randy Gregory tested positive for COVID on Monday, according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. That will cost Gregory at least a game, but he can make it back by Week 3 if he shakes the virus quickly enough. Tarell Basham and Dorance Armstrong are the next 2 up at DE.
Browns K Chase McLaughlin (hamstring) is active for today’s game against the Chiefs. We’d still opt for a healthier option for Week 1 fantasy lineups.
Browns K Chase McLaughlin (hamstring) was added to the injury report on Friday and is listed as questionable for this weekend's game vs. the Chiefs. We'll keep tabs on his status but would look elsewhere for Week 1 fantasy lineups.
Bucs WR Chris Godwin is not listed on the final injury report for Thursday night's opener vs. the Cowboys. He was limited in Tuesday's practice with a quad issue but returned to a full practice on Wednesday. Godwin is a strong fantasy play against a Cowboys defense that ranked 2nd-to-last in adjusted fantasy points allowed to WRs last year.
Bucs WR Chris Godwin was added to Tuesday's injury report with a quad and limited in practice on Tuesday. That's all we know at this point. Check back tomorrow for another update ahead of Thursday night's opener vs. the Cowboys.
Bucs RB Gio Bernard (ankle) was a full participant in Monday's practice. So he's good to go for Thursday night's opener vs. the Cowboys. Bernard handled all the 3rd-down work with the 1st-team offense this preseason.
Bucs RB Gio Bernard (ankle) returned to practice on Sunday, according to Pewter Report. It's unclear how much Bernard did, but it clearly gives him a shot to play against the Cowboys on Thursday night. We'll get Tampa's 1st official practice report on Tuesday.
Bucs RB Gio Bernard is dealing with a "mild" high-ankle sprain, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. Pelissero adds that Bernard is expected to be ready for the season opener vs. Dallas. But this would need to be an extremely mild high-ankle sprain for that to be the case. We'll keep an eye on Bernard's status. His absence would open up passing game work for RB Leonard Fournette (and maybe a bit for RB Ronald Jones.
Giants TE Kyle Rudolph (foot) has been activated from the PUP list and will return to practice, the team announced. Rudolph had foot surgery shortly after signing with the G-Men in March and had been sidelined since. The 31-year-old caught just 28 balls in 12 games for the Vikings last year. But the Giants surprisingly gave him a 2-year, $12 million deal. We'll see exactly how Rudolph factors into the team's plans.
Saints WR Marquez Callaway caught 5 balls for 104 yards in Monday night's preseason game against the Jaguars. That included a 43-yard TD on a play that drew a defensive pass-interference call, as well as a 1-handed reception or 29 yards. "Every time the lights turn on, [Callaway] does an amazing job," QB Jameis Winston said afterward, per Pro Football Talk. In addition to WR Michael Thomas being out, the Saints have also gone without WR Tre'Quan Smith in each of the 1st 2 exhibitions. The team also lost TE Adam Trautman to injury against Jacksonville. Callaway seems to be seizing the opportunity and should open the season in New Orleans' starting lineup. He looks like the best bet to lead Saints WRs in targets while Thomas is out.
Bucs RB Gio Bernard will be a "major part of the offense," HC Bruce Arians said Thursday. Arians went on to say that Bernard has been “more than pretty good” since joining the team. Arians is no stranger to hyperbole, so take this with at least a small grain of salt. But Bernard did match RBs Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones with 2 snaps with the 1st-team offense in the preseason opener. Both of Bernard's snaps came on 3rd down. We're expecting him to play a big role on passing downs -- although we'd still be surprised if he took too many carries from Fournette and Jones.
Giants WR Sterling Shepard is having an impressive camp and has been QB Daniel Jones' favorite target, according to insider Matt Lombardo. And that was reportedly the case even before WR Kenny Golladay went down with his hamstring injury. "The expectation entering this season was that free agent newcomer Kenny Golladay would vault to the top of Jones’ target hierarchy, and even before the high-priced addition suffered a hamstring injury last week, that just didn’t happen," Lombardo writes. "Meanwhile, Shepard has consistently been making plays, and consistently been among Jones’ first reads, perhaps a harbinger for the kind of season ahead for the longest-tenured Giant." Shepard is never an exciting fantasy pick but has finished as a top 34 WR in PPR points per game in 3 of 5 seasons -- and never finished lower than 45th. He's a strong bet to beat his current WR64 ADP.
Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury confirmed Monday what most of us expected out of his backfield. "We expect both guys to share the load for the most part," the coach told ESPN's Josh Weinfuss, referring, of course, to RBs Chase Edmonds and James Conner. "We'll play to their strengths," Kingsbury added. "James is obviously a bigger back. Chase, when he had [an] opportunity, did some great things, and we want to make sure we're calling plays that both those guys are comfortable with when they're in and kind of tailor to them." Kingsbury added that "they can both do it all," but it's pretty clear that Conner will hold the edge near the goal line and Edmonds in the passing game -- much like with Edmonds and Kenyan Drake last year. Both remain fine values in current drafting: Edmonds as RB27 in FFPC best-ball formats, Conner at RB38.
Multiple Saints beat writers mentioned on Friday how good Saints WR Marquez Callaway has looked in training camp so far. "He really has impressed as a potential WR 1/2 so far," ESPN's Mike Triplett tweeted. With both Michael Thomas (ankle) and Tre'Quan Smith (leg) currently sidelined, Callaway is getting a big opportunity as the de facto #1 WR. And it sounds like he's taking full advantage. We'll see when Smith is able to get back on the field. But with Thomas expected to miss the first handful of games, Callaway has a chance to be a fantasy factor.
Sterling Shepard is expected to be the Giants' primary slot receiver this season, according to The New York Post's Ryan Dunleavy. “I love the slot,” Shepard said from training camp on Tuesday. “It’s where I’m super comfortable. I just like the space that you have. I’m able to go all the way across the field, come back out, do the short-intermediate routes, which I enjoy running.” Shepard played 82% of his snaps in the slot as a rookie back in 2016. That rate has steadily declined over the past 4 seasons, bottoming out at 34% last year. Shepard's most efficient seasons in terms of yards per target came in 2017 and 2018, when he played 74% and then 55% of his snaps in the slot. Consider more slot snaps good news for Shepard's 2021 outlook. But we'll have to see if he stays on the field and kicks outside when the Giants go to 2-WR sets. This news also means New York's 3-WR sets figure to feature Kenny Golladay and Darius Slayton on the outside. Rookie Kadarius Toney is expected to play mostly in the slot, so it looks like he's is line to open the season no better than 4th on the depth chart.
The Athletic's Greg Auman calls Gio Bernard the Bucs' "likely" pass-catching back. That could be a valuable role considering Tampa RBs combined for 119 targets last year. Bernard, though, will need to beat out Leonard Fournette among others for that job. Bernard has caught 30+ passes in all 8 of his NFL seasons, including 47 last year. But he turns 30 in November and settled for a cheap, 1-year deal with the Bucs this offseason after getting cut by the Bengals. He's not guaranteed anything. We'll monitor the battle for the passing-down snaps in this backfield.
Giants TE Kyle Rudolph is opening training camp on the active/PUP list. That's not surprising, given that the veteran TE had foot surgery shortly after signing with the team. He can be activated at any point during camp. If Rudolph remains on the list until the final roster cutdown, he'd be eligible for the regular-season PUP. That would require him to miss 6 games. We'll keep an eye on Rudolph's status, mostly for the sake of Evan Engram's snap/target competition.
Bucs HC Bruce Arians labeled WR Chris Godwin (hip) a game-time decision for Sunday's tilt with the Rams. Godwin returned to practice on Friday after missing the first 2 days and was "moving around well," according to Arians. Bucs-Rams doesn't kick off until 4:05 pm ET, so hopefully we get an update on Godwin's status on Sunday morning.
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