Washington Commanders Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Per ESPN’s Michael Rothstein, Falcons QB Marcus Mariota “appears to be far ahead” of QB Desmond Ridder. Unsurprisingly, Rothstein says it would be “a stretch” for Ridder to start the opener. Our current QB projections have Mariota for 12 games; the rookie for 5. Note that Atlanta’s bye week doesn’t arrive until Week 14.

No more holdout worries for WR Terry McLaurin. He and the Commanders agreed to a 3-year, $70 million contract extension on Tuesday. That tacks on to the final year of his rookie deal to keep McLaurin signed through the 2025 season. He'll be 30 at that point. The 2019 3rd-rounder has opened his career with WR30, WR20 and WR36 finishes in PPR points per game -- despite often dealing with poor QB play. It's arguable whether Carson Wentz will stabilize that situation. McLaurin sits in mid-range WR2 territory in our 2022 rankings.

The Athletic's Ben Standig wonders whether rookie Brian Robinson will replace Antonio Gibson as the Commanders' goal-line back this season. "Washington selected running back Brian Robinson to be a between-the-tackles hammer," Standig writes. "It will be interesting to see whether Robinson or Antonio Gibson, who remains the lead back, handles goal-line/short-yardage situations. Often the rookie gets eased into such scenarios, but Gibson’s penchant for fumbles combined with Robinson’s ball security and interior running could flip this toward the Alabama alum." Gibson coughed it up 6 times last season and was just-ok near the goal line, converting 5 of 12 carries inside the 5-yard line into TDs. Robinson has 5 pounds on Gibson and scored 14 times on the ground at Alabama last year. Usage in Washington's backfield will be worth monitoring closely in training camp and preseason action.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports that 49ers WR Deebo Samuel has not rescinded his trade request. The team has indicated it has no plans to move Samuel, and he attended the team's mandatory minicamp in early June. But this at least serves as a reminder that some tension remains. We'll see whether that forces a move.

After watching OTAs and minicamp, The Athletic's Joe Buscaglia believes WRs Jamison Crowder and Isaiah McKenzie will compete for slot snaps in training camp. "If Crowder and McKenzie keep these positive days going in training camp, the Bills will have a difficult decision to make regarding playing time," Buscaglia writes. Crowder is the more accomplished player of the 2. But both guys are making about the same amount of money this season, and McKenzie has the advantage of experience in this offense and with QB Josh Allen. Crowder is WR66 in recent FFPC ADP, while McKenzie is down at WR94.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Commanders WR Terry McLaurin plans to miss this week's mandatory minicamp. The 4th-year wideout is looking for a new contract, as he heads into the final year of his rookie deal. Beyond the fine that will come with holding out, McLaurin will be missing practice time with new QB Carson Wentz. His absence will also afford extra reps for WRs such as rookie Jahan Dotson, Curtis Samuel and Cam Sims. We'll see how this situation develops. For now, we're not adjusting our outlook for McLaurin -- who just might be getting the best QB of his career to date.

49ers WR Deebo Samuel is expected to report for minicamp on Tuesday, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Samuel reportedly requested a trade earlier this offseason, unhappy with his RB usage last year. But it looks like the 2 sides have ironed things out at least for now. We'll continue to monitor the situation, but Samuel seems likely to be on the field for the 49ers come Week 1.

Speaking at an event on Wednesday night, 49ers GM John Lynch confirmed that WR Deebo Samuel will remain on the team. “We haven't traded him, and I'd be a fool to trade him. So yes, Deebo will be part of the 49ers this season,” Lynch said. Now we’ll see if Samuel, 26, accepts a high-dollar extension from the 49ers this summer.

Commanders HC Ron Rivera compared his new Antonio Gibson - Brian Robinson backfield to the Jonathan Stewart - De'Angelo Williams pairing he had in Carolina, according to insider Grant Paulsen. Those guys split backfield work almost right down the middle across 4 seasons under Rivera, with Stewart averaging 10.4 carries and 2.8 targets per game vs. Williams' 11.2 carries and 1.6 targets. We're not expecting Robinson to match Gibson in volume this season, but it sounds like the rookie has a shot to play a significant role.

Washington selected RB Brian Robinson in Round 3 of the NFL Draft. At nearly 6’2, 225 pounds, the Alabama product is a load to bring down. He broke out as a 5th-year senior, rushing for 271-1,343-14 after sitting behind guys like Josh Jacobs, Najee Harris and Damien Harris. Despite 2 drops, Robinson added 35 catches in the receiving game. He drew a Chris Carson comp from NFL Media’s Lance Zierlein, and the tape backs that up. In Washington, he profiles as a potential rotational runner right out of the gate. Note that Antonio Gibson is under contract for 2 more seasons.

Referencing a conversation with 49er Deebo Samuel, NFL insider Jeff Darlington said the star WR has requested a trade. Samuel didn’t reveal any specific reason, but we get the message. If he does in fact leave San Francisco, the 49ers would be left with guys like Jauan Jennings, KeeSean Johnson and Ray-Ray McCloud behind Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle. Currently, the 49ers don't pick until 61st overall in this month's draft, although they do have a pair of 3rd-rounders. As for Deebo, any suitor will need to pay him top dollar, as the 26-year-old is entering a contract year. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Deebo is frustrated over his RB usage. Rapoport added that Deebo hasn't "engaged" with the 49ers, despite the team's attempts to make him a lucrative long-term deal.

ESPN's Adam Schefter suggested that WR Deebo Samuel wants out of San Francisco. We reported on Tuesday that Samuel was skipping the team's offseason program as he seeks a new contract. But Schefter believes that Samuel isn't interested in getting that new deal from the 49ers. “San Francisco would pay Deebo Samuel today, tomorrow, the next day. It’s not hard to figure out what the contract would look like,” Schefter said on ESPN's NFL Live. “We’ve seen some of the top numbers in the league. This, I think right now, is Deebo Samuel not wanting to get a deal done. It’s not San Francisco not willing to do the deal, the 49ers are ready. Deebo Samuel is the one who has put a halt to everything for right now.” It's unclear what's caused this rift -- especially since Samuel is coming off a career-best season. We'll see where the situation goes from here. Samuel is overvalued in early best-ball drafts, although a move out of run-heavy San Francisco might actually help his fantasy stock.

ESPN's Adam Schefter hears that WRs Deebo Samuel, A.J. Brown and Terry McLaurin are not expected to participate in on-field work in their teams' offseason programs as they look for new contracts. McLaurin at least plans to report for the start of the workouts, per Schefter. All 3 guys have 1 year remaining on their rookie contracts and are looking to get paid after seeing Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill and Stefon Diggs get big deals this offseason. We'll certainly keep a close eye on these situations -- but we're not moving Samuel, Brown or McLaurin in our 2022 WR rankings right now.

The Rams have agreed to a 5-year, $50 million deal with LB Bobby Wagner, according to multiple reports. The pact has a reported max value of $65 million. We'd be surprised if the veteran LB sticks with L.A. for 5 years and the contract gets anywhere close to either of those numbers. But the Rams clearly want Wagner to be their top off-ball LB for at least the next year or 2. This move should keep Wagner well within LB1 range for IDP drafts in 2022.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones admitted that WR Michael Gallup (knee) is iffy for the start of the season. “Optimistically, I expect him to give us a question mark around the first game," Jones said. "And I see a conversation that says conservatively, you would like to have a couple more games to get him out there.” This is just confirmation considering Gallup tore his ACL on January 2. Drafters shouldn't be expecting to have him for the start of the season. As Dallas' depth chart currently stands, WR James Washington would be in for a big role for however long Gallup is out.

WR Jamison Crowder has inked a 1-year deal with the Bills worth "up to" $4 million, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. Crowder is coming off a disappointing 2021 season, averaging a career-low 8.8 yards on 51 catches across 12 games for the Jets. But he'll turn just 29 in June and averaged 4.9 catches and 54.4 yards per game between 2019 and 2020. Crowder looks like a natural replacement in Buffalo for Cole Beasley, who finished 34th, 27th and 41st among WRs in PPR points the last 3 seasons.

The Falcons announced Monday they have agreed to a 2-year deal with QB Marcus Mariota. He's likely a step down in passing from Matt Ryan. At the least, Mariota will have to prove otherwise after he washed out with Tennessee and then spent the past 2 years backing up Derek Carr. But his rushing ability makes him a far more attractive fantasy option than Ryan. Mariota has experience with HC Arthur Smith from their Titans days, which can only help speed his acclimation to the offense. The QB's arrival might be negative for Cordarrelle Patterson's target upside, but we'll let the situation play out a little further before making any significant change to the RB-WR hybrid's outlook.

The Cowboys and WR Michael Gallup have agreed to a 5-year extension worth $62.5 million, according to multiple reports. This has been the expected move. The question for Gallup in 2022 will be how soon he can make it back from the ACL tear.

TE Zach Ertz has agreed to a new 3-year deal with the Cardinals worth $31.65 million, with $17.5 million of that guaranteed, according to multiple reports. Ertz averaged 5.1 catches and 52.2 receiving yards per game over 11 contests with Arizona after being traded from Philly last season. He's a solid-to-good value at the bottom of TE1 territory (or even high-TE2 range) in early best-ball drafting.

The Panthers have re-signed K Zane Gonzalez to a 2-year deal, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. In 12 games for Carolina last season, Gonzalez drilled 20 of 22 FG tries and 22 of 23 XPs. He ranked outside the top 20 Ks in fantasy points per game, though, and won't be an appealing option in 2022 unless the Panthers upgrade at QB.