Team news | Page 111

The wait for word on the severity of Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp’s hamstring injury will last a little longer.

McVay said that the team still considers Kupp day-to-day with the season opener looming.

“If he’s able to go, that’s outstanding for us,” McVay said.

McVay also said that team wants Kupp to feel fully back to himself before he returns to game action and, given all of the question marks about his status, it’s hard to imagine that happening in time for the wideout to face the Seahawks. McVay said he expects to have a more detailed update on Kupp’s condition Wednesday.

Kupp went to Minnesota to see a specialist for the injury, which head coach Sean McVay termed a setback in his return from an earlier hamstring pull. At a Monday press conference, McVay said Kupp made the trip because the nature of the injury “doesn’t fall in alignment” with the expected recovery from a soft tissue injury and that the wideout is still meeting with the specialist in hopes of gaining “clarity” about what’s wrong.

Dolphins rookie RB Devon Achane (shoulder) was at practice and no longer wearing a red, non-contact jersey.

Related players: Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson, Salvon Ahmed

Owners can officially start to get excited about Achane. With Wilson now on the IR, it leaves Mostert as the RB1, but Achane could be right there as the team's RB2. Ahmed could also be in the picture, but Achane has looked good all through camp and has the speed HC Mike McDaniel loves to use in this offense. It will be interesting to monitor the RB usage in Week 1.

The Jets plan to have running backs Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook in the lineup against the Bills on Monday night.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh said at a press conference that Hall will not practice on Monday because of a planned rest day as he returns from last season’s torn ACL, but that he is on track to be in the lineup for the season opener. Hall has been practicing with the team since being activated off the PUP list on August 15. That’s the same day that Cook signed with the Jets.

Given the limited practice time for both players, Saleh said that the Jets will be smart with how they deploy both backs in the opener.

Related players: Michael Carter

Cook only recently started practicing with the team because of the birth of his child after signing his contract. Cook will get in a full week of work this week, though, and Saleh said he’ll play against Buffalo as well. It also appears neither back will have a snap count for Week 1, according to the story. Speculation has been the two backs will split work early on in the season, but eventually the talent and youth of Hall will shine through as the season goes on. For Week 1, we rank Hall at 21st and Cook at 34th in what is expected to be a tough matchup against a good Bills defense.

Amon-Ra St. Brown (ankle) is practicing Saturday, Kyle Meinke of MLive.com reports.

Great news for owners who picked up St. Brown this weekend. St. Brown injured his ankle during a mid-August practice but never seemed to be in serious danger of missing the upcoming Thursday night opener against Kansas City, according to the story. The story went on to say it's unclear if he'll even be listed Monday when the Lions and Chiefs release the first official injury reports of the 2023 season. St. Brown looks good to go for Week 1 at this point.

While it was assumed a talent of Sean Tucker's caliber could make the roster if healthy, climbing the depth chart to plant himself as the main backup to Rachaad White was impressive. Going from undrafted to RB2 means a lot to the rookie runner.

“I just want to showcase my talents and provide whatever I can to the team,” Tucker said. “I want to help us win going into the season and just making the 53 (man roster) is a dream come true and is somewhere I’ve always wanted to be.”

Related players: Chase Edmonds, Ke'Shawn Vaughn

Tucker's story is a great one. At one time he was primed to be a Day 2 pick in the NFL Draft, but ended up not even getting drafted. He signed with the Bucs after the draft and from there climbed the depth chart and beat out veterans Edmonds and Vaughn. Tucker ran for 81 yards on 23 carries, adding 22 yards on five receptions. He also had a 12-yard touchdown called back against the Steelers. Tucker seems like a smart pickup for those who own White in leagues this season.

Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney (knee) is “good to go” for Week 1 against the Lions, head coach Andy Reid said Sunday.

Toney missed most of camp as the knee injury lingered but he looks good as the Chiefs are just days away from beginning defense of their Super Bowl title. Sunday was like a Wednesday of a regular game week for the Chiefs and Lions so this is good news for his availability. Toney has a chance to become a bigger part of the Chiefs offense after making noise once acquired last season from the Giants, including a key touchdown in the Super Bowl.

Rams WR Cooper Kupp is in Minnesota Saturday to get further information on his hamstring injury,

Kupp suffered a setback this week on his hamstring injury that was originally suffered back on August 1. Head coach Sean McVay said Kupp is day to day and his status for Week 1 against the Seahawks is up in the air. It may even be slightly more likely at this point that the Rams hold Kupp out for Week 1 as a precautionary move to keep him healthy for the rest of the season. This all after Kupp missed eight games last season with a high ankle injury and hamstring injuries tend to linger more. We should get more info in the coming days on the status of Kupp.

Without Kupp, Van Jefferson would step into the No. 1 receiver role, while Tutu Atwell and Puka Nacua would become Nos. 2 and 3. Depth receiver Ben Skowronek would likely play more on special teams this season than in the offense. But if Kupp is absent into the season, Skowronek knows each receiving position as well.

This depth chart is something else. Van Jefferson should be a fantasy target regardless of Kupp's health, but finding usable weeks for the other three options listed are sure to be hard to come by. Nacua is fine as a late-round dart, but Atwell has only one game of 60+ yards receiving and one other separate game with more than two receptions since being taken in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Mike Evans has set a Week 1 deadline to receive a new contract from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with his representation indicating the wide receiver will look to play elsewhere in 2024 if no deal is reached.

Related Players: Chris Godwin

This is a bit of odd timing, as we are one week away from the regular season kickoff. There were rumors during the beginning of the offseason about the team possibly looking to trade Evans or Chris Godwin and eye a rebuild, but those died down quickly.
Deal or no deal, all signs point towards Evans suiting up for the Bucs in Week 1 and throughout the 2023 season.

Saints head coach Dennis Allen said Kendre Miller has a hamstring injury. Wouldn’t say if it will impact Week 1.

Related Players: Jamaal Williams, Kirk Merritt, Alvin Kamara

As it stands, the only active running backs on the Saints roster are Jamaal Williams and Kirk Merritt, though Jordan Mims and Tony Jones are on the practice squad. 4for4's injury expert, Jeff Mueller, believes the hamstring is related to offseason knee surgery, which will impact his Week 1 status. Either Williams is going to have a monster workload right out of the gate, or the team will be immediately signing a free agent option to eat into that (still large) workload.