Team news | Page 133

Saquon Barkley said recently at his camp that he will not make a "definitive declaration" about what he's going to do for the 2023 season until we get to the July 17th deadline for franchise-tagged players to get a long-term extension. Per Rapoport, there is still room for a deal. Talks are "back on" for a possible extension beyond the franchise tag.

Related Players: Matt Breida, Eric Gray, Gary Brightwell

This is a positive spin after Barkley mentioned less than two weeks ago that he would consider sitting out the entirety of the 2023 season if he needs to. A long-term deal for the running back entering his sixth year seems unlikely, but there's no doubt that Barkley remains one of the most talented backs in the league when healthy.

Rams are bringing back veteran running back Sony Michel. It’s a one-year deal.

Related Players: Cam Akers, Kyren Williams, Zach Evans

While this may not seem like that big of a deal, this could turn out as bad news for Akers' between-the-20s and goalline ceiling. Michel could also be non-factor training camp release.

At the least, this probably puts a halt on Zach Evans as a late-round dart throw until we find out more details about the contract.

The Lions will be patient with Sam LaPorta, but he’s already shown enough physical tools to warrant immediate snaps. If the mental side catches up, he could be the starting tight end in Week 1.

Related Players: Brock Wright, James Mitchell

Rookie tight ends notoriously take a long time to get up to speed, but if LaPorta is starting in Week 1, he finds himself in a great offensive environment. Lions tight ends set the receiving touchdown record last season, despite trading away TE1 T.J. Hockenson.

It was mostly Parris Campbell working out of the slot, Darius Slayton and Isaiah Hodgins out wide, and Darren Waller all over the field with the first-team offense. That’s in part because Sterling Shepard (knee) and Wan’Dale Robinson (knee) worked on the side as part of their rehab from torn ACLs.

Related Players: Jalin Hyatt

Campbell, who was signed this offseason as a free agent, is destined for a significant role regardless. The Giants think he can do more than be the 68-catch player he was with the Indianapolis Colts last season if he’s healthy in this offense. This spring only validated what they thought they could be getting.

This usage has sent a clear message about third-round rookie Jalin Hyatt, who is "coming along slowly and working primarily with the third-team offense."

The Giants are bringing rookie wide receiver Jalin Hyatt along slowly. The third-round pick mostly worked with the third-team offense this spring. Wide receivers coach Mike Groh dismissed concerns about Hyatt’s limited route tree in college, while acknowledging that it’s a big adjustment for any rookie receiver to transition to the NFL.

Related Players: Isaiah Hodgins, Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard, Wan'Dale Robinson, Parris Campbell

The article would go on to mention that Hyatt "could" have a role as a deep-threat specialist as a rookie but that it will be an "uphill climb" for him to unseat an established veteran. In Underdog drafts, Hyatt is currently coming off the board as the WR70 around guys who have already proved they can be valuable at times in fantasy, such as; K.J. Osborn, DJ Chark, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

Running back J.K. Dobbins told WJZ-TV on Thursday that he didn't participate in the Baltimore Ravens' mandatory minicamp this week because of his contract situation.

Related Players: Gus Edwards, Justice Hill

Dobbins, a second-round pick in the 2020 draft, has missed more games (27) than he's played (23) in his career. It's hard to see how he has a leg to stand on in this situation, so we'll see how long this mini-holdout lasts.

According to quotes from the article, new OC Todd Monken tried (unsuccessfully) to get Dobbins on the field, but the running back declined. This will likely all blow over but there's still a possibility that Gus Edwards and Justice Hill get better familiarized with the Monken offense and cut farther into Dobbins' already compromised role.

Head coach John Harbaugh said that Rashod Bateman, who sustained a season-ending foot injury last year that required surgery, got a cortisone shot recently, and the goal for him is to continue his rehab and be ready for training camp.

Related Players: Odell Beckham, Zay Flowers, Devin Duvernay

The Ravens are set up with probably the best receiving group Lamar Jackson has ever seen at the professional level if everybody is fully healthy. Bateman is currently ranked as the No. 1 wide receiver in fantasy terms, but that still only makes him a modest WR41. If he can prove that he is fully healthy well ahead of the regular season, we could see him sneak up the rankings a little bit.

The New England Patriots have waived running back James Robinson after signing him to a two-year, $4M deal this offseason.

Related Players: Rhamondre Stevenson, Ty Montgomery, Pierre Strong Jr.

The contract had only $150,000 in guaranteed money, which was a red flag, to begin with. This strengthens the case even further for Rhamondre Stevenson to be an absolute fantasy stud this season and possibly opens up the door for a little more usage from Strong.
There has been a light buzz on more Ty Montgomery usage, but that has been circulating for about three seasons across multiple teams, so we would do well to ignore that.

Bills HC Sean McDermott says wide receiver Stefon Diggs is not in attendance for the mandatory minicamp. McDermott said, "he's very concerned"

Well, this seemingly came out of nowhere. This would be quite the storyline if Diggs were sitting out, and the implications for fantasy would be massive. We'll keep an eye on this story.

Diggs is making $24.415 million in 2023, including a $22.745M signing bonus as part of a March restructure. A mountain of dead cap means his contract isn't really tradeable from Buffalo's end.

The Jets think Michael Carter will bounce back and also believe that Israel Abanikanda — whom they drafted in the fifth round out of Pitt — can make an immediate impact. He’s a home-run threat and will be part of the running back rotation right away, pushing to start if Breece Hall is out to begin the season.

Related Players: Zonovan Knight

This is music to analytic nerds everywhere. Abanikanda was a spreadsheet darling but when he went to New York in the fifth round, it took a little bit of the air out of the balloon. But it turns out that Breece Hall could be missing well into the season and Carter was far less effective with the ball in his hand than his rookie counterpart in the 2022 campaign.

Izzy makes for an interesting late-round option on teams desperate for RB help.