July 2017 4for4 Player News Articles

Bengals RB Joe Mixon had another nice day, which was capped off by a touchdown run of about 75 yards. Mixon took advantage of a large hole opened for him by the offensive line and dodged safety Clayton Fejedelem, who gave chase as Mixon darted down the sidelines.

Related players: Jeremy Hill, Giovani Bernard

We had a story on Mixon a few days ago about his role being to bring some life to a running attack that's regressed the last few years in Cincy. It's a crowded backfield with Hill and Bernard so roles are going to need to be determined, but Mixon is standing out early in camp.

Bill Belichick told Sirius XM Monday that he believes the Pats backfield will "have a little more versatility than we have in the past."

"LeGarrette was a very good short-yardage, first down, second down type of guy," Belichick explained. "I think Rex Burkhead has ability on all four downs. I think Mike Gillislee has a little more overall versatility. Dion Lewis can play on all three downs. James White, as we saw later in the year last year, can play more on all three downs, although we used him more as a third down player, but I think he can do a little bit more of that. Brandon Bolden can play on all three downs. So it'll be interesting to see how all that competition unfolds, but hopefully we'll be a little bit less of a 'Blount on first down, second and short; Lewis on second down; White on third down.'"

For how unpredictable the Pats backfield was for fantasy owners, in the real world, the story pointed, out it was very predictable for opposing defenses. This year, the team seems to have more backs who can play a wider variety of downs. We have Gillislee as the favorite to get the early down work, but this could be a situation that stays fluid once again.

So far, Saints WR Brandon Coleman looks the part. He's winning on short, intermediate and deep routes, and he's gaining yards after his catches. Backup quarterback Garrett Grayson labeled him the MVP of camp so far and said Coleman "looks like a totally different receiver."

Related players: Michael Thomas, Ted Ginn, Willie Snead

With Michael Thomas and Willie Snead looking like the top-two guys, Coleman is also battling Ted Ginn for playing time. The story said if he continues to play well, the team will have to find ways to get him the ball, but it's looking like a crowded WR group right now.

Not backing down from physical confrontation has consequences.

Steelers rookie running back James Conner drew praise from his coach, Mike Tomlin, for Conner’s efforts in his first padded practice. Those efforts resulted, however, in a shoulder injury.

According to NFL Network, Conner missed practice on Monday for evaluation of the shoulder. The Steelers are off on Tuesday.

Related players: Fitzgerald Toussaint, LeVeon Bell

It’s unclear when Conner will be ready to return, and the precise diagnosis/prognosis is unknown. His absence puts stress on the tailback position, given the lingering holdout by starter Le’Veon Bell.

It appears the wait for word on potential disciplinary action against Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott will stretch on for at least another week.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that no decision in the Elliott case is expected to come this week.

Owner Jerry Jones said "everything's in place" for a decision but the story added Commissioner Roger Goodell is waiting for "outside advisors" to weigh in before making a decision.

Rookie and first-round NFL Draft pick David Njoku grabs a lot headlines, but don’t forget about Seth DeValve in the Browns tight ends room.

It’s clear the second-year player has become a focal point in Cleveland’s offense, taking reps with the first-team offense after catching two touchdowns on 10 receptions as a rookie.

“I said this at OTAs – he is an emerging player,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said Sunday. “I really liked Seth coming out (of college). Last year, I think he would be the first to tell you with all of the injuries and the newness of the National Football League that it was tough.”

It's still early, but it's worth nothing Njoku has struggled early on as DeValve has performed well.

Vikings running back Latavius Murray said he’s not behind schedule in his return from right ankle surgery, and could, if necessary, have himself ready for the regular season without participating in training camp.

“Most definitely,” Murray said after today’s morning walk-through. “At the end of the day, football is football. I think for me it’s just making sure physically I’m OK. The mental part of it, it’s a game I’ve been playing all my life.”

Moments later, his coach, Mike Zimmer, disagreed with Murray’s view on the importance of training camp.

“Well,” Zimmer said, “he is a smart guy. But he needs to get out there” on the practice field.

Murray is losing reps to Dalvin Cook, who was drafted with the team's top pick. It's expected to be a committee, but Murray missed OTAs, minicamp and has spent the first week of training camp on teh PUP list. Murray said there is no timetable for his return at this point.

The Eagles' running back situation is like a giant puzzle. We know the pieces but we don't know how they'll all fit together just yet.

"They're open to everything," LeGarrette Blount said. "They're not going to just specifically put me in the role of short-yardage, goal line back. That's not what they brought me here for. They have an open mind. They're going to put me in other situations. I'm excited about every part of the game."

Blount, 30, is coming off a season that saw him carry the ball 299 times for 1,161 yards and an astounding 18 touchdowns. For comparison, the Eagles' top rusher in 2016 was Ryan Mathews, who carried the ball 155 times for 661 yards and eight scores. (Mathews is still technically on the roster but is expected to be cut once fully healed.)

After Blount, the Eagles still have Wendell Smallwood, Darren Sproles and Donnell Pumphrey. All four backs seem to have different skill sets and it'll be up to head coach Doug Pederson to figure out how the puzzle fits together.

Pederson was quoted in the story saying he wanted to get all the RB touches. That's something similar to what happened last year, which isn't an ideal fantasy situation. But, Blount should get a bulk of early down work at least, while Sproles and Pumphrey, who seem to be of the same mold, get third down work and passing situation downs. Smallwood seems to be more of a backup to Blount.

The 2017 season is the final year of the three-year deal Frank Gore signed with the Colts back during the 2015 offseason. Gore stated on Monday that he wants to keep on playing past the 2017 season. Considering Gore’s recent resume (hasn’t missed a game since 2010 and coming off a 1,000-yard season last year) should lead to teams not afraid to sign a back that will be 35 years old in 2018.

Focusing on 2017, the Colts are scaling Gore back a bit this offseason, due to an ankle injury. Gore is still practicing, but we’ve seen a good amount of Robert Turbin, and even Josh Ferguson, with the first-team offense. It’s all about building up to Week 1, says Gore, who will undoubtedly be the starter for the regular season opener.

Gore said, "Someone will pick me up, if it's not here," according to the story. Gore is expected to get his share of the work in 2017, but Turbin impressed at times last year and the Colts seem to like him. This isn't the first time we heard Turbin will have an increased role.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill is already growing tired of addressing questions about his left knee. He was asked throughout spring practices and minicamp and couldn’t avoid the same questions during the first week of training camp.

“The knee is really good. It feels really good,” Tannehill said with a grin. “I haven’t had any changes since the spring. I was a full participant in the spring and still going really well.

“Now we don’t have to address that anymore, right? [Laughter.] We’re good?”

Tannehill suffered a sprained ACL and MCL that forced him to miss the final four games of last season, which included Miami’s playoff loss to the Steelers. Many were surprised that his knee didn’t require surgery. But the Dolphins and Tannehill decided rehabbing the knee and wearing a brace was best for recovery, the story said.

Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi was walked off the practice field Monday, the team’s first day in full pads, accompanied by team personnel. One of the team personnel was carrying Ajayi’s helmet, which is usually an indication the player isn’t likely to return that day.

Pro Football Talk reported Ajayi was being evaluated for a concussion. The reason personnel was carrying his helmet was so he couldn't go back into practice, according to reports.

The Sun-Sentinel story said it appeared Ajayi took a big hit from safety T.J. McDonald a couple of plays earlier. Ajayi was having a productive day prior to taking that hit.

The Falcons running back duo combined for 883 receiving yards on 85 catches with five touchdowns last season, so their dual-threat ability is not a new revelation. But again, watching them in practice reinforces how much talent QB Matt Ryan has to work with outside of All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones.

"The two guys -- Tevin Coleman, Devonta Freeman -- they're so versatile for us," Ryan said. "When you watch those guys compete this offseason, the way that they've practiced the start of camp, catching the football out of the backfield, it's going to be critical for us. I think those guys are two of the most talented guys in the league and are three-down backs. They catch the ball really well for us. They run the ball in between the tackles, outside the tackles. And they pass protect for us really well. So we're lucky to have both those guys."

The story said Coleman will need to stay healthy, while Freeman is waiting for a contract extension. Both backs were excellent fantasy options last year, Coleman especially in PPR leagues. OC Steve Sarkisian said in the story he wants to find more ways to get the ball in both backs hands.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht told ESPN's Dan Graziano that the Bucs are leaning toward a committee approach at running back during Doug Martin's suspension the first three games of the season.

Related players: Jacquizz Rodgers, Peyton Barber, Charles Sims, Jeremy McNichols

We reported yesterday that Martin may not even get his job back once he returns. Rodgers stepped up very nicely last year when given the chance and the story said if the team names a starter, it will likely be him.

Jonathan Stewart will share the backfield with Christian McCaffrey. He will be the power back who gets most of the carries on first and second down. McCaffrey will be the change-of-pace back used in passing situations and on third down.

There will be times when both are on the field, either in the backfield or with McCaffrey in the slot or at wide receiver.

Stewart was 11 yards shy of 1,000 yards in 2015 despite missing three games, and last year ran for over 800 yards and nine TDs. He received a one-year extension through 2018. McCaffrey will surely cut into Stewart's workload but it sounds like Stewart should continue to get early-down work as well as goal line carries.

The lack of training camp time and the nature of WR Mike Williams’ back injury would seem to make him a candidate to open the regular season on the physically unable to perform list. That would keep him out of action for the first six weeks and coach Anthony Lynn said that the absence may stretch well beyond that point.

“I’m hopeful that it’s not [a season-ending injury], but who knows? It could be,” Lynn said, via the Los Angeles Times.

The team announced on Sunday Williams isn't expected to practice at all during camp due to the back injury he suffered on the first day of rookie minicamp. There was once optimism around the situation after it was announced he wouldn't need surgery, but things now seem to be trending toward the negative for Williams.

Doug Martin has three games left on a drug suspension and will serve them at the beginning of this coming season. But if the Buccaneers running back thinks he's automatically getting his starting job back once the suspension is over, he may be mistaken.

Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht told ESPN on Saturday that Martin was looking good so far in camp and that the team is happy with the way he's handling things, but his job might not be there for him come Week 4.

"It might not," Licht said. "Look, he has done everything we've asked him to do, and he looks reminiscent of 2015 when he was playing for his contract. He looks the same out there, mentally and physically. So he might be one of those guys that needs a carrot. And he's got a pretty big carrot in front of him right now, because there's no guarantees that he's going to be here. And he knows that. We've talked to him, and he's good with it. He goes, 'I understand.'"

The Buccaneers believe Jacquizz Rodgers can fill in well at running back while Martin is out, and they like Charles Sims as a third-down back who can help in the passing game.

In 2015, Martin finished with 1,673 total yards and seven touchdowns and was the #4 fantasy running back in PPR formats. This offseason, he has seemingly returned from the dead. He was mentioned as a cut candidate early this year, but now it sounds like the team is expecting him to return to form in 2017. He's suspended for the first three games of the season, and Jacquizz Rodgers is likely to start in his place for that span. In regular redraft formats, it's an intriguing strategy for owners to draft both Martin and Rodgers to serve as RB2 by committee (in a WR-heavy strategy). At his price, Rodgers is the better bet in fantasy drafts.

With a need at TE, the Ravens signed former Giants TE Larry Donnell and waived WR Tim Patrick.

Crockett Gillmore has a 'serious' knee injury which prompted the move.

The Indianapolis Colts reported to training camp Saturday morning.

Quarterback Andrew Luck, who is on the preseason physically unable to participate list, said he's not ready to commit to playing the regular season opener.

"It's hard for me to look beyond, really, today's rehab session," Luck said. "That's the approach I have to take ... if you want to get truly healthy. If you want to get better than you were before the injury."

Luck would not say whether he was throwing footballs, but confirmed that he had to start throwing with a tennis ball. And there were mobility and strength requirements that had to be met before that.

But he insists Colts fans should not worry.

"There's no reason to freak out," Luck said. "I don't know what day it's going to be, I don't know what week, I don't know when, but I definitely will be (better)."

If Luck were sure he'll be available for the opener, he would probably say so, so these comments are a bit worrisome. We have reduced Luck's expected games played to account for this uncertainty.

Bengals running back Giovani Bernard was back at practice for the start of training camp on Friday, a little more than eight months after tearing his left ACL.

Bernard stayed in Cincinnati almost the entire offseason so he could rehab with Bengals trainer Nick Cosgray. He said he gave himself only two weeks to visit his hometown of Boca Raton, Florida.

"And the only reason, I was like, 'Nick, I really just want to be able to get a different type of training, get used to the humidity so I'm ready for camp,'" Bernard said. "He gave me two weeks down there, and obviously I worked my butt off down there as well."

Bernard was making his usual cuts during team drills and showing off his speed down the sidelines. He admitted he felt so confident he might have even pushed it more than normal just to see how the knee responded. Bernard is the Bengals' best pass-blocking running back and one of their more versatile players. In 10 games last season he rushed for 337 yards and two touchdowns and caught 39 passes for 336 yards and a touchdown.

Rookie tight end David Njoku is not off to a good start. He dropped one pass on July 27 on the first day of training camp and had two stripped on the second day – one by Briean Boddy-Calhoun and one by Marcus Burley.

Jackson saw all three plays. He is not happy.

“Hold on to the freaking ball,” Jackson said. “That has got to stop, and that will get stopped. We will get that corrected because we can’t turn the ball over. That’s one of the big goals that we have. He gets that. He understands that. We can’t give the ball away so we need to get that squared away with him.”

The Browns traded back up into the first round to select Njoku 29th overall, sending picks 33 and 108 to Green Bay. They cut tight end Gary Barnidge the next day.

LeSean McCoy had a workload that was monitored over the course of the 2016 season. He averaged 19 touches per game last season between the run and pass game for Buffalo. Offensive coordinator Rick Dennison said he doesn’t have an idea in mind with respect to McCoy’s workload. He’s more focused on getting McCoy the ball to make plays.

“We're going to make some plays and giving the ball to him when we think he's got some chances. (McCoy’s workload) is not my expertise. I’m trying to move the offense, and certainly he's one of our playmakers on offense.”

When asked if anyone will monitor McCoy’s workload through the course of the season, Dennison pointed to the head coach: “I’m going to let Sean take care of that. Both (head athletic trainer) Shone Gipson and Sean McDermott. Let them take care of that. You know I’m coaching all the guys out there and whatever happens, happens.” The story added whether McCoy's workload is larger this season than it was last season could hinge on the success in finding a dependable and productive backup.

On Thursday, a review of Cardinals practice appeared on the team’s website and it mentioned wide receiver John Brown looking like he was “past his health concerns” after a 2016 season that was plagued with them.

Those concerns caught up with the speedy wideout, however. Coach Bruce Arians said on Friday, via the Arizona Republic, that Brown will miss a couple of days and perhaps up to a week of practice time because of a strained quad.

The story pointed it out it normally may not be a big deal at this point in camp, but Brown has dealt with soft tissue injuries throughout the year and had hamstring issues during spring work. Brown also had a cyst on his spine and worked to figure out the best way to deal with a sickle cell trait in his blood that doctors felt contributed to some of his other injuries.

Isaiah Crowell was all smiles Friday afternoon as the Browns prepared for Day 2 of training camp. The running back is happy to be a focal point in Cleveland’s offense and, in the process, out to prove why he’s one of the league’s top playmakers.
“It just feels good that my coaches and my teammates trust me and depend on me,” Crowell said. “I'm just excited to go out there and be the best I can be.”

Related players: Duke Johnson

Crowell is expected to have a big season according to the story, which appeared on the Browns website. The piece said the team invested in its interior offensive line which should help, and HC Hue Jackson said the team wants to get back to running the ball more.

For the last two days in Broncos training camp, veteran running back Jamaal Charles has sported a brace on his surgically repaired right knee under the premise that if it doesn’t work for him, he’ll scrap it.

“But right now, it’s a safe plan for me,” he said. “To build confidence back up with my knee.”

It’s a test period for the brace and Charles is taking it slow. Just as the Broncos are taking it slow with Charles as he works his way back from multiple knee surgeries that hindered his final two years in Kansas City.

“There isn’t any question I can still play. I know I can still play,” he said. “The main thing is knowing the playbook and controlling what I can control."

Related players: C.J. Anderson

The injury to Devontae Booker could really open the door for Charles to see a lot more opportunities. The team is scheduled for live hitting on Sunday, the story said, which could serve a good indication how far Charles has come.

While Alshon Jeffery had a really good day, Torrey Smith was even better. Plenty of folks have wondered if the 28-year-old has much left. On Friday, he looked plenty good, making several nice catches.

The first came on an absolute gem of a throw from Carson Wentz. The others were against tight coverage. In 11-on-11s, Smith jumped in front of Jalen Mills and then Patrick Robinson on the next play. Smith showed the ability to come back to the ball, something the Eagles' receivers rarely did last season.

Related players: Jordan Matthews

The story said Jeffery was catching everything today and suggested Wentz may have been testing his range with throws behind him and low - but Jeffery snagged them all. On paper, the Eagles have a nice mix at WR. As long as Smith provides a deep threat, Jeffery and Jordan Matthews could play the role of possession WRs.

The Steelers' 2017 season is officially underway, and Ben Roethlisberger reiterated on the second day of training camp what became one of the biggest storylines this spring: that the franchise quarterback is seriously considering retirement after the season, and that his wife supports the decision.

The one-word reason?

"Age," Roethlisberger told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette on Friday, adding, "It's just, it's 14 years; that's a long time. I think the average life expectancy in the NFL is three years, maybe 3.5 now.

"I've been blessed to do this a long time. I think it's just seeing my kids growing up, and in the offseason I love getting to spend time with them, and then I come here and football season just has to take up so much of your time. Even when you get home, I try my best to turn it off when I walk in the front door. I think I do a pretty good job of that, but it still consumes you in a way."

The story went on to sum things up nicely why it may not make sense for Big Ben to hang it up so soon: Roethlisberger, whose current contract runs through 2019, continues to play at a high level, and this Steelers offense could be the best of his career, one that includes three Super Bowl appearances and two Lombardi Trophies. Everyone one knows about Antonio Brown, Le'Veon Bell and Martavis Bryant, but there's also the offensive line, perhaps one of the league's most underrated units.

Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert said in April that he wasn’t sure he would be cleared to practice at the start of training camp due to the back surgery he had last December, but he got good news when he met with doctors to find out if he’d be able to join his teammates on the field this week.

Eifert said, via Paul Dehner of the Cincinnati Enquirer, that he’s been fully cleared to practice. Eifert missed eight games last season to continue a career-long trend of time spent in the trainer’s room rather than on the field, where Eifert has been a potent part of the Cincinnati offense.

First-round pick John Ross said, via Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com, said that he’s been cleared to practice.

Eifert has missed 27 games over his first four seasons, something that the Bengals would obviously like to see change as he heads into his fifth NFL campaign, the story said. Meanwhile, Ross is going to be limited as he makes his way back from shoulder surgery.

The Bengals have a sizeable stable of backs between Giovani Bernard, Jeremy Hill and Joe Mixon. Figuring out how to divvy up those snaps is a good problem for the Bengals to have.

Pencil Hill in as the starting back for now, but expect Mixon to get a lot of work early and often.

The story commented the Bengals have been in somewhat of a rut at RB since 2014, when they ranked sixth overall in rushing average. That average has fallen from 134.2 yards per game that season to 110.6 yards per game. Drafting Mixon gives them new life at running back because of how many things he can do. Mixon had 1,812 yards from scrimmage and 15 touchdowns in final season at Oklahoma. Putting him in the mix early can keep defenses on their toes, particularly with the speed that’s also been added at wide receiver, the story added. Fantasy-wise, it's more of a three-headed monster that needs to be sorted out. The story did add Hill is the starter - for now at least.

Aaron Rodgers probably won’t play much this preseason; that’s nothing new for a quarterback who played only two series in one exhibition game last season. But he won’t be easing his way into training camp, either.

Just like last summer, when coach Mike McCarthy said he would be “conscious” of his quarterback’s training camp pitch count, the Packers will chart how many balls Rodgers throws before the regular-season opener. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be any less than he’s thrown in past camps.

Los Angeles Chargers brass are cautiously optimistic first-round draft pick Mike Williams can avoid back surgery, but he likely will begin the season on the physically unable to perform list once the team opens training camp Sunday.

"He's been responding well," Chargers general manager Tom Telesco said Thursday. "The path, right now, is rehab and strengthening. That's good news, obviously."

Williams was diagnosed with a lower-back disk herniation that kept him out of offseason work after he suffered the injury on the first day of rookie minicamp at Chargers Park in San Diego in May. However, the Clemson product recently received a second epidural shot and has responded positively, the story said.

After the first day of Browns training camp, Hue Jackson acknowledged that rookie DeShone Kizer is coming along faster than expected.

"Yes, he is,'' Jackson said. "He's understanding the offense. I could take you back to his days at OTAs - he struggled calling the plays. The words were a lot simpler. The language was a different. I did not see as much of that today. That is improvement. Obviously, he made some good throws and did not turn the ball over. Those things are good. Again, it's just one day. We are not going to make decisions on guys in one day. We have a lot of work to do."

Related players: Cody Kessler

It was just one day, but as the story said it perhaps bodes well for his future. The piece also said if he continues at this clip, he'll surely get most of the first team reps.

His knees have hurt for so long, Jordan Matthews isn't even sure when it all began.

On the first day of full-team Eagles practice, Matthews was a full participant and said he felt great after the 90-minute non-contact session.

But he also said he considered offseason surgery before deciding to rehab instead, and said it's been a "long process" getting to the point where he can practice without discomfort.

The story said his status was a mystery all offseason but Matthews was quoted in the story saying he wouldn't be out there unless he was 100-percent.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott was quick to outline a plan that has been in place for top receiver Sammy Watkins heading into the team’s training camp practice schedule. With the assistance of head athletic trainer Shone Gipson, his staff and the coaching staff there is a going to be a guarded approach in building Watkins up to a full workload.

McDermott said the team has put together a rep count that will build up, and at times come down a little.

With Devontae Booker sidelined for about six weeks with a small fracture in his wrist, the Broncos signed free-agent running back Stevan Ridley to join the competition in the backfield.

Ridley, a seven-year veteran, was a featured back for the Patriots from 2011 until 2014, racking up 2,817 rushing yards over four seasons. In his best season, he totaled 1,263 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. His final season with the Patriots was cut short by a season-ending ACL and MCL tear in Week 6.

In the years since, Ridley has spent stints with the Jets, Lions, Colts and Falcons.

Steelers players reported to training camp on Thursday, but running back LeVeon Bell wasn’t among them.

That comes as no surprise as Bell has not signed his $12.1 million franchise tender and players in that position tend to stay away from the early part of camp at the very least.

The deadline to sign a longer deal passed on July 17, the story said, leaving that deal on the table through the start of the season unless the Steelers offer him more money or a promise not to use the franchise tag to make reporting more worth Bell’s while.

John Lynch was asked an open-ended question: “Has any player stood out who is in great shape?”

The San Francisco 49ers general manager name-dropped Carlos Hyde.

“Carlos Hyde looks tremendous,” Lynch said. “He’s really dedicated himself.”

The praise came during a press conference featuring Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan. Hyde met with media shortly after and confirmed that his summer has been spent preparing for training camp. Players officially reported to the SAP Performance Facility on Thursday, but Hyde had already been at 49ers HQ. Rather than return home to Florida, the running back stayed in the Bay Area for daily workouts with 49ers strength and conditioning coach Ray Wright, the story said.

Steeers wide receiver Martavis Bryant, reinstated on a conditional basis from his season-long suspension in May, has not been fully reinstated by the NFL and cannot practice during training camp until his situation is resolved.

General manager Kevin Colbert made the announcement Thursday afternoon.

“Upon his conditional reinstatement in April, Martavis Bryant was made aware it was only the beginning of a process toward a return to being a full contributing member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. We have been informed by the NFL that Martavis is still in the process of being fully reinstated,” Colbert said in a statement.

“Until that time, Martavis will be permitted to take part in off-the-field team activities at training camp, but he will not be permitted to practice or play in any games.”

Bryant missed the entire 2016 season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. He participated in organized team activities and minicamp after his conditional reinstatement.

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton didn’t sound like he’s planning any major changes when it comes to running the ball when asked about it on Thursday.

“That’s my edge,” Newton said, via Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. “You going to expect a lion not to roar?”

The story speculated the drafting of RB Christian McCaffrey and WR Curtis Samuel is a way for the team to get the ball out of Newton's hand quicker, while avoiding big hits.

Giants owner Jerry Reese said the most important thing for 36-year-old quarterback Eli Manning will be taking care of his body.

Manning has made 211 straight starts, so he's done a good job of maintaining his body to this point. But Reese said the coaching staff will take steps to preserve Manning's body and arm so he's on top of his game this season.

"You have to really try to take care of guys as they get up in age," Reese said. "You can call it a pitch count. We want to make sure that he's fresh going into the games and late in the year and hopefully going into the playoffs."

The story said Manning wants to take every snap in practice, but Reese said they have cut back on his training camp reps in recent years. Manning only appeared in two preseason games last year as well so expect more of the same this season.

Hearing a head coach say the sky is the limit for an already established star player is standard training camp fodder. However, when that coach is Andy Reid and that player is do-everything tight end Travis Kelce, some ears might start to perk up.

Reid said Kelce is essentially a wide receiver anyway, foreshadowing a potentially larger role for the two-time Pro Bowler who put up a career-high 85 catches for 1,125 yards and four touchdowns last year.

"I think every year you will see him probably get a little bit more here and there," Reid said, via the team's official site. "Different things, like you said, he plays a lot, so it will not be play time necessarily, but just variations of the passing game. He can basically do everything a wide receiver can do. He gives you some flexibility there."

It seems the Chiefs want to find more space for Kelce, who, according to the story, led all TEs in average yards after the catch with 652. He's our top-ranked TE.

Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears said the search for which player is the best fit for power runner job will be one of the things on tap during training camp.

“Somebody’s got to play big for us,” Fears said, via the team’s website. “We have enough guys who can play finesse football. Somebody’s got to play power football for us so we have to find out who’s going to do that. I think a lot of those guys are capable of that. Freakin’ James White ran the power offense when he was at Wisconsin so, what are we talking about? But he’s got to do it for us here. Not just him, but whether it’s Mike Gillislee, whether it’s Rex Burkhead or Brandon Bolden … somebody’s got to step up and be the big back when we need one and all those roles that come up in the game we have to find somebody to fit those roles, and I think we will.”

Related players: Mike Gillislee, Rex Burkhead, Dion Lewis, James White

None of the backs have Blount’s size, but they will be working behind a good offensive line and in an offense with enough threats that defenses will have a hard time selling out against any one option. We think Gillislee is the favorite at this point, but you just never know with the Patriots run game.

Despite seeing his 2016 season cut short due to injury, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is ready to take part in New England's 2017 training camp without any limitations, according to head coach Bill Belichick.

"He doesn't have any limits that I know of," Belichick said of Gronkowski's status prior to Thursday's opening practice.

Gronkowski, who missed eight games last season and did not suit up for a single playoff game during New England's run to a fifth Super Bowl title, was sidelined after undergoing back surgery back in December.

Despite the major procedure, Gronkowski was an active participant during New England's OTAs back in late May -- even beating Malcolm Butler for a touchdown during one session, the story said. While OTAs do not include contact, Belichick added that Gronkowski was pretty much up to speed and ready to contribute fully once New England's offseason program got underway.

Via multiple Twitter accounts of reporters at practice, HC John Harbaugh said the Ravens plan to add a quarterback, and he didn’t rule out Colin Kaepernick.

Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun notes that Harbaugh said it all “depends on what Kaepernick wants to do.” Harbaugh also said that the Ravens have been talking to Kaepernick throughout the summer.

PFT speculates the outcome hinges on whether Kaepernick would take whatever money the Ravens have budgeted for the position. If he does, he’ll have a job. And a chance to supplant Ryan Mallet as the No. 2 guy on the roster. And an opportunity to be in position to play if Joe Flacco’s back injury is something more than a minor inconvenience.

The Giants reported for training camp on Thursday and they did so without any drama involving their star wide receiver.

Odell Beckham Jr. quietly arrived at the team facility on Thursday morning. Giants coach Ben McAdoo said the entire 90-man roster reported for camp.

Beckham was expected to report after attending the Giants' three-day mandatory minicamp in June. But with speculation still lingering about Beckham's dissatisfaction with his contract, there was a remote chance that he could hold-out of training camp. Beckham undoubtedly wants an extension as he prepares to earn $1.8 million in the final year of his rookie deal. The Giants exercised Beckham's $8.4 million fifth-year option for the 2018 season, the story all said.

Wide receiver Corey Coleman said Thursday on the first day of Browns training camp he's confident he'll be cleared in the assault investigation that resulted in felony charges against his brother and friend.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah,'' Coleman said when asked if he'll be cleared.

Coleman is still under investigation because a probable cause affidavit filed with the Cuyahoga County grand jury indictment says all three men attacked the 26-year-old Mayfield Heights man.

Jonathan Coleman, a 25-year-old former Kansas State University football player, and Jared Floyd, 24, both of Dallas are charged with felonious assault, a second-degree felony.

Coleman declined to answer questions about the events of that night at his downtown condominium, when a man was beat and then left in the parking garage unconscious. Surveillance videos show Coleman, his brother and friend following Sapp into a stairwell, according to Sapp and police. The fight is not captured on video.

Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater has been widely praised by teammates this offseason for maintaining a positive outlook. The 24-year-old quarterback says he believes that he will play again.

“I’ve always had faith,” Bridgewater said. “Faith has gotten me this far.”

Related players: Sam Bradford

Bridgewater also said that doctors have not told him that he will never play again. He has reached out to other players who have gone through severe injuries like Frank Gore and Willis McGehee, who told the Vikings’ QB to take his time and not try to come back too early.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Broncos RB Devontae Booker has a wrist injury. He’s expected to miss up to 6-8 weeks.

The Broncos start training camp practices on Thursday. It’s unclear how he was injured. He’s currently expected to be placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list. He would be able to exit PUP at any time before Week One.

Related players: C.J. Anderson, Jamaal Charles

Booker's Week 1 availability is obviously in doubt. Anderson likely heads into the season as the RB1, with Charles potentially eating into his workload depending on the health of his knees.

Ravens QB Joe Flacco is preparing to miss 3-6 wks with a disc issue in his back. Out at least a week or two.

Rapoport added, "out at least a week or two," but it's unclear if he's talking about the regular season or if he's saying that Flacco will miss 1-2 weeks at a minimum with 3-6 weeks as a possibility. We'll continue to follow this story.

Rookie wide receiver John Ross, taken in the first-round after his shoulder surgery, isn’t expected to make his Bengals practice debut for a couple of weeks.

It's looking less likely that Ross will contribute early in the season. He missed offseason activities due to shoulder surgery (and late graduation from the University of Washington).

Washington Redskins tight end Jordan Reed's training camp won’t begin the way anyone hoped. In a surprising move, the Redskins placed him on the physically unable to perform list, along with three other players.

Also on the list: safety DeAngelo Hall (knee), linebacker Houston Bates (knee) and receiver Kendal Thompson (leg). Reed, though, is the most consequential. He was fine during the Redskins' two-day minicamp, so his inclusion on the list comes as a surprise.

Reed sprained his big toe and is still dealing with pain and soreness, a Redskins senior vice president of communications Tony Wyllie said. He’s undergoing further evaluation before being cleared to return. The Redskins are hoping to avoid a long-term issue.

Opening on the PUP list does not mean Reed won’t be ready for the season. He can come off the list at any time, but a player can’t be placed on the PUP list once camp begins.

It remains to be seen how serious this injury is. The Washington Post added that the move was "precautionary," according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Hopefully, it's not turf toe, which can linger for weeks. On a per game basis, Reed had the highest scoring average in PPR leagues and the third-highest in standard formats. We'll have more details as they emerge.

A chance meeting in downtown Houston could prove valuable for Ty Montgomery and the Packers this season. It was there during Super Bowl week when he ran into Rischad Whitfield, who has quietly become one of the leading trainers of NFL running backs, even though he's better known by his nickname.

"He stopped me in the middle of the road and was like, 'Hey, are you the Footwork King?'" Whitfield recalled. "I told him I was, and he said, 'I've got to get in with you.' We exchanged numbers, and we went right to work."

It's all part of Montgomery's all-in approach, as Whitfield put it, to his conversion from receiver to running back.

The two worked together before the Packers reported for the offseason program in April and after minicamp ended in June.

"He's extremely serious about this," Whitfield said. "Football is a game where you don't really have much time to think -- you've got to react. I'm trying to help him change direction quicker, make his cuts quicker and sharper. We're working on it all. He's all-in at the running back position. He wants to be a dual-threat running back."

Montgomery started getting significant playing time in Week 6, and from that point on, he averaged 73 total yards and 0.27 TD, not including the playoffs. This resulted in 13.0 PPG in PPR formats and 9.0 PPG in standard in that span. In two healthy playoff games (versus the Giants and the Cowboys) he gained a combined 149 yards and found the end zone twice. Montgomery has beefed up this offseason to prepare for a full season at running back. In his Rushing Expectation series, 4for4’s Joe Holka came away impressed: “Montgomery is built like a feature back, yet pairs rare receiving ability with elite vision in the open field. It's surprising how natural he made the transition from wide receiver to running back look, consistently showing patience and maturity between the tackles.”

Lions writer Tim Twentyman: I believe running back Theo Reddick is one of the best red-zone threats in all of football. Jim Bob Cooter can do so much with Riddick from a matchup standpoint near and around the end zone. There’s not a linebacker in this league that can cover him out of the backfield. He can also motion out into the slot and force a defense to move pieces around to account for him there. Riddick had five receiving touchdowns last year. All five were in the red zone and three were from one yard out.

Riddick had three catches inside the opponent's five-yard line and all three ended in touchdowns. His per game average of 16.2 fantasy points (PPR) was the 8th-highest at his position. With Ameer Abdullah also returning from injury, Riddick may not see as many carries, but he should continue to play a big role in the passing game. He averaged 5.3 catches per game last year, and 5.0 per game in 2015, so his role as a receiver has been consistent.

After failing to reach an agreement on a long-term contract extension, Steelers RB LeVeon Bell is not expected to arrive anytime soon in camp.

Related players: James Conner, Knile Davis

Bell is expected to hold out for at least part of camp, but has said he would like to play a full 16-game schedule this season, so it seems reasonable if he doesn't arrive for the start, he'll show up at some point in time to get ready for the start of the season. The story was actually about Bell's potential backup in 2017.

Off the field, the Steelers struck a PR coup when they drafted former Pitt star and cancer survivor James Conner in the third round. Conner is already the NFL’s No. 2 leader in jersey sales, but now the question is whether he can be the Steelers' No. 2 running back.

After failing to reach an agreement on a long-term contract extension, Le’Veon Bell is not expected to arrive anytime soon in camp, giving Conner a chance to solidify the No. 2 spot.

Conner was limited in spring practice with a hamstring injury but should be good to go this week in Latrobe where he’ll likely receive the heaviest workload.

Knile Davis, who signed a one-year, $775,000 contract in free agency, brings four years of experience and could finally prove to be the Steelers’ answer at kick returns. As a running back, Davis is a slight upgrade over Fitzgerald Toussaint.

As the story said, this running back “battle” is all a moot point the minute Bell reports. Without a long-term deal in place, there’s even less incentive for the Steelers to lighten Bell’s workload. Bell's backup could prove to have some fantasy value so it's a battle worth watching.

Steelers wide receiver Sammie Coates will miss the start of training camp after undergoing a knee scope last week, a source told ESPN.

Coates, who suffered a knee injury while training in the offseason, is a candidate for the physically unable to perform list but could return in mid-August, depending how the knee heals.

As the story said, Coates, who trained with longtime NFL receivers coach Jerry Sullivan this summer, hopes to rebound from a difficult 2016 season. Coates posted 421 receiving yards in the first five games, but then injuries to his fingers and groin affected his production. The groin injury required offseason surgery.

Bengals rookie wide receiver John Ross, taken in the first-round after his shoulder surgery, isn’t expected to make his Bengals practice debut for a couple of weeks.

The story added Ross's situation may not become official until Thursday, so it's something for owners to keep an eye on later this week.

All indications are running back Giovani Bernard (ACL) and tight end Tyler Eifert (back) could be available when training camp opens Friday (3 p.m. on the practice fields) and won’t have to start the summer on any restricted lists.

Certainly good news for both players. The story added they will likely be brought along slowly, which is to be expected.

Kenneth Dixon's meniscus tear is more extensive than the Baltimore Ravens originally believed.

The second-year running back is expected to miss the entire 2017 season after undergoing surgery to repair his medial meniscus on Tuesday, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, via a source informed for the situation.

Related players: Terrance West, Danny Woodhead, Bobby Rainey

Before Dixon went under the knife, as we reported earlier today, the Ravens hoped he would miss just a few weeks with a "trim" rather than a full repair. While Tuesday's procedure bodes well for Dixon's long-term health, the recovery timetable is four-to-five months. The team signed Rainey and he'll help to fill the void along with West and Woodhead. West probably benefits more from Dixon's absence, but Woodhead's role is safer now that Dixon is on the shelf for the year. We have West ranked slightly higher in standard leagues with Woodhead higher (19th) in PPR formats. In 2015, Woodhead finished #3 in PPR format before getting hurt last season.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera said on Tuesday, via Steve Reed of the Associated Press, that WR Kelvin Benjamin is “where he needs to be” in terms of his weight. Benjamin will now move on to trying to improve on his 63 catches for 941 yards and seven touchdowns from the 2016 season.

Rivera voiced some displeasure with Benjamin’s weight in April and the wideout’s condition became a running storyline in Carolina throughout their offseason program. It wasn’t the first time that Benjamin’s weight elicited a negative response from Rivera, which, along with the time of year, explains why the story blew up as it did. It doesn’t look like we’ll see a third round during training camp, the story concluded.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera noted on Tuesday that QB Newton reported to training camp at 246 pounds. That came a day after Newton, who will be somewhat limited throwing when practice begins on Wednesday night after undergoing shoulder surgery in March, showed off his improved conditioning in an Instagram post.

“I’m pretty excited about where he is right now," Rivera said of Newton’s conditioning.

Rivera also is excited about his quarterback’s confidence, which he said during NFL owners meetings needed rebuilding after a 6-10 campaign in which Newton statistically had his worst season.

The story started by saying Newton joked a few years ago that he hadn’t weighed his listed 245 pounds since his final season at Auburn in 2010. The most common weight associated with the 2015 NFL MVP the past few seasons has been 260 pounds, and even that at times seemed on the light end for the 6-foot-5 player.

And after being limited in offseason work, Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota said he’s prepared to be turned loose.

“I feel great,” Mariota said on Tuesday. “With camp starting on Friday I think my body is in good shape, and I can’t wait to get it going.

“I will be ready to go with everything. I will be full-go in practice, and I will be able to do everything with the guys. And I am excited about that because I wasn’t able to do it in OTAs. It should be a lot of fun.”

Mariota, who was limited during the offseason as he recovered from last year’s fractured fibula, said he’s been working out mainly in Hawaii and Oregon in recent weeks. He threw routes to some of the team’s receivers roughly 1 ½ weeks ago.

Dez Bryant's belief is that the work he did this offseason will help him get to the form he had in 2014 when he caught 88 passes for 1,320 yards and led the NFL in touchdown catches with 16.

Leading into the 2015 season, he missed the entire offseason in a contract dispute after the Cowboys placed the franchise tag on him. Leading into 2016, he was limited in his offseason work because of a second foot surgery.

As the story said, he had 31 catches for 401 yards and three touchdowns in 2015. He had 50 catches for 796 yards and eight touchdowns last season. Now there are questions as to whether he remains one of the league's elite receivers. Many will mention Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham Jr., Julio Jones and others before they get to Bryant, and those are similar names usually ahead of Bryant in the fantasy world too.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz will be managing his "pitch count" during training camp to ensure his arm is fresh for the regular season, he told reporters Tuesday after the team's second day of training camp.

"To some extent, yeah," said Wentz, sporting a black protective sleeve on his throwing arm. "I'm not too worried about it; I've been through a number of camps before. Obviously, this is a little different. But to some extent, it's kind of built into the practice plan in general."

Wentz is coming off a rookie season in which he set a franchise record with 607 passing attempts after going through the rigorous predraft process following his senior year at North Dakota State. His arm didn't get much of a break. There was a report that Wentz dealt with elbow soreness during the season. The team and Wentz denied the report, though Wentz did allow that there was some "general soreness," the story said.

Eddie Lacy vs. Thomas Rawls: Lacy is the favorite to be the team's featured back, but Rawls has a chance to make some noise with a strong summer. Rawls was fantastic as a rookie in 2015, piling up 830 yards and leading the league with a YPC average of 5.65. But last season he struggled through injuries and averaged just 3.20 YPC.

C.J. Prosise will be the third-down back and figures to be a big factor in the passing game. If he can prove he's durable, Prosise could carve out an even bigger role than anticipated.

It's telling that the Seahawks aggressively pursued running backs in free agency, eventually landing Lacy. Both players will get touches, but how the workload is divided will be determined by how productive they are on the field, the story said.

Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said Julio Jones is ready for training camp, as expected, following offseason foot surgery.

How much Jones will participate is yet to be determined, but Dimitroff feels good about his star player's progress from a March 6 procedure on his left foot.

Dimitroff went on to say the Falcons will continue to monitor Jones "for a guy who is so important" to the team. Jones did some light running during minicamp and caught passes, but he did not participate in practice. The entire time, Jones insisted he'd be ready for training camp.

Though it's possible for David Johnson to increase his average from 23.3 touches per game to 30, it could come at a price.

Three running backs who averaged more than 28 touches per game were injured the following season. Four were injured in the year after that -- including Larry Johnson and Edgerrin James.

Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer believes in trying to get Johnson 30 touches a game, but he's also a realist.

"I think getting him 30 touches is the plan until he's sore or he loses a little bit of flexibility or whatever it may be as things pop up during the season," Palmer said. "Ideally that's great. I think that's the plan. If something changes, like it can in this game, and you have a hamstring or shoulder or the thing that comes up, the plan changes, but it's a great plan to start with."

James Wilder was the last RB to average over 30 touches per game with 30.8, the story said. Cards HC Bruce Arians said there is a difference between Johnson accomplishing the feat vs. Wilder from back in 1984 - Johnson won't run the ball 30 times. Arians was quoted as saying there's a big difference between "catching 10 passes than running the ball 30 times." Arians added that getting the ball in Johnson's hands and creating space makes a big difference, too, when it comes to wear and tear on the body.

With Kenneth Dixon expected to be sidelined for much of camp with a knee injury and the Ravens already thin at running back, they are planning to sign veteran Bobby Rainey, who started his career with the team.

Rainey, 29, played last season with the New York Giants, appearing in 15 games and carrying the ball 17 times for 63 yards. He also had 20 catches for 153 yards, and returned both kicks and punts for the Giants.

Related players: Danny Woodhead, Terrance West

Dixon, a second-year back, is believed to have a torn meniscus in his knee, according to sources. He'll have surgery today and the team will know more about the severity of the injury. This is Dixon's third knee injury since the Ravens took him in the fourth round of last year's draft. Dixon was already facing a four-game suspension to start the season. Without taking part in a big part of camp, it certainly brings into question how soon he can be ready after he returns in Week 5. Health-wise, he may be okay by then, but it's unlikely that he'll have a big role in the first two months of the season. Both Woodhead and West, but especially West, get a bump given this news.

Panthers tight end Greg Olsen wants a contract that he feels has a better ratio of productivity to compensation and he didn’t rule out holding out of training camp in order to press his case, but it looks like that won’t be how things play out in Charlotte.

Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer reports that Olsen plans to report to the start of camp at Wofford University with the rest of his teammates on Tuesday.

Olsen became the first tight end in league history with three straight seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards when he caught 80 passes for 1,073 yards last season. He’s set to make base salaries of $6.5 million in each of the next two seasons.

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Willie Snead is officially in the fold.

Snead signed his tender as an exclusive-rights free agent, according to Monday's NFL Transactions report.

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Snead will earn a base salary of $615,000 under the tender, but the Saints and Snead are eyeing a longer deal.

This updates a previous report that said Snead hadn't signed, but intended to report to camp. He's expected to play a big role in the offense as the team's WR2.

The first practice of Ravens training camp isn’t until Thursday, but there’s early positive news.

Quarterbacks and injured veterans reported Friday, and with it came the return of third-year tight end Maxx Williams to the field.

Williams had a rare knee surgery last year, which landed him on injured reserve on Oct. 7 after just four games. More than nine months later, Williams stepped back onto the field in his helmet and jersey for the first time Saturday.

Related players: Ben Watson, Crockett Gillmore, Nick Boyle

It’s still early in his return, but Williams has a chance to emerge. The Ravens have a lot of uncertainty at tight end this year. Dennis Pitta was released after a third hip surgery and veteran Benjamin Watson is returning from a torn Achilles. Crockett Gillmore is trying to stay healthy after being plagued the past three years. Darren Waller has been suspended for the entire season. Nick Boyle is the only experienced tight end without a question mark.

The tight ends are expected to be counted on more as pass catchers in new offensive coordinator John Morton’s system.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who had a productive spring and can participate in all of the team’s preseason practices in addition to the four exhibition games, will serve a two-game suspension at the start of the regular season. In addition to Seferian-Jenkins, the Jets have a young group of tight ends and it’ll be interesting to see who steps up in camp.

Down 30 pounds this offseason, Seferian-Jenkins looked quicker than he did after joining the Jets last September, the story went on to say. The fourth-year veteran, who had 10 receptions in Chan Gailey’s system, primarily ran with the first team throughout OTAs and minicamp as he showed good hands and separation. He has the most NFL experience of the unit and he could become a top target.

The Indianapolis Colts will open training camp with their franchise quarterback on the sideline.

General manager Chris Ballard announced Monday that Andrew Luck will be placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.

While the early-camp absence is obviously not ideal, Ballard insists Luck has encountered no setbacks in his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery.

"We're exactly where I thought we'd be at this time," Ballard said, via The Herald Bulletin.

Luck has started a throwing program and is expected to be healthy in time for the regular season, the piece said. But it's going to be one of the bigger stories to follow this summer leading up to fantasy drafts.

Saints wide receiver Willie Snead has not signed the exclusive rights free agent offer that the team tendered early this offseason and made no bones about his desire for a different deal than the one-year, $615,000 one that’s on the table, but that won’t stop him from being at training camp on Thursday.

Snead wrote in a text message to Josh Katzenstein of the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he will report to camp with the rest of the team’s veterans.

“No holdout,” Snead wrote. “I’ll be on the practice field Thursday.”

Snead has 141 catches for 1,879 yards and seven touchdowns over the last two seasons and is set for a big role in the offense again this year. If he doesn’t sign a multi-year deal with the team this season, Snead will be a restricted free agent in 2018.

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff and his staff plans to work “full time” on getting a contract extension done with Pro Bowl running back Devonta Freeman.

“That’s just a few days away and I’ve always said that I think it’s going to be a fairly expeditious negotiation, but you never know,” Dimitroff said on Monday “I would love for it to happen, but if it doesn’t we’re not throwing up the caution flag at all. We’ll just continue to work through it.”

Related players: Tevin Coleman

He wouldn’t rule out having a deal done before the first practice on Thursday, but was not overly optimistic, the story went on to say.

The Vikings announced that running back Latavius Murray and linebacker Shaan Washington have been placed on the physically unable to perform list.

Related players: Dalvin Cook

This is perhaps good news for Dalvin Cook owners. He was already getting a bit of a head start with the rookies, but with Murray on the PUP list, Cook seems to be in line for a lot of reps.

Coach Doug Pederson said at a press conference on Monday that wide receiver Jordan Matthews and linebacker Jordan Hicks will both be building up to full participation. Matthews was bothered by knee tendinitis during the offseason program and continues to deal with it, but Pederson said he’s not worried about the wideout being ready to go come the regular season.

“We’ve just got to stay on top of it, obviously,” Pederson said, via Philly.com. “We’ve been rehabbing all spring and summer. He was in North Dakota with the guys. He’s another one we need to monitor as we go. Again, we don’t play a game for a long time, so I’m not concerned.”

Matthews may see a bit of a drop in targets this year with Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith added to the team, but he could also be the forgotten guy in the middle as far as defensive coverage goes, esp. with TE Zach Ertz showing signs last season.

A two-TE offense is a great set for a rushing attempt, but it can be deceptive and dangerous if it's used to pass the ball.

That's particularly true if both tight ends on the field are capable of running great routes and blocking defensive ends. That's the exact scouting report on Buccaneers TE O.J. Howard, which was why he was a first-round pick. Cameron Brate, who didn't block much in college, is improving in the second category but is obviously a threat in the passing game already.

Related players: Mike Evans

Keep in mind this is the Bucs website, but the writer brought up the redzone, where Brate caught all eight of his TDs last season. Howard will likely steal some of those targets, as will WR Mike Evans. As a result, both Brate (31st) and Howard (26th), right now, don't crack our top-25 in TE ranking.

Cleveland’s Duke Johnson is a running back, but he’s had more receiving yards than rushing yards in each of his first two NFL seasons. In his third season, he may not be a running back at all.

Johnson is the leading candidate to be the Browns’ No. 1 slot receiver, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.

Last year Andrew Hawkins was the No. 1 slot receiver in Cleveland, but he left for New England in free agency. As one of the few bright spots in Cleveland’s offense last season, Johnson caught 53 passes for 514 yards and ran 73 times for 358 yards.

The Jaguars’ season will hinge on whether quarterback Blake Bortles has made improvements in four key areas: turnovers, pocket awareness, decision-making, and accuracy. Those are more important than any of his mechanical issues, which he worked on extensively during the offseason. Bortles leads the NFL in turnovers (63) since he entered the league, and his career completion percentage is only 58.8 percent, and that’s not good enough.

He has to show significant progress during the joint practices with the Patriots and Buccaneers and the preseason games. The Jaguars drafted Leonard Fournette and are committed to running the ball to take pressure off Bortles, who has averaged 37 pass attempts per game in his three-year career, but he must stop holding the offense back or this will be his final year in Jacksonville.

Related players: Chad Henne, Brandon Allen

The story said Bortles is the starter, but if he continues to turn the ball over and can’t move the offense consistently, coach Doug Marrone may go to either veteran Chad Henne or 2016 sixth-round pick Brandon Allen. Which one will likely depend on when the move is made. If the team is still in the AFC South race, it likely would be Henne, who hasn’t thrown a pass since Week 3 of the 2014 season.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was the breakout star of the NFL last season, but you ain’t seen nothing yet.

That’s the word from Cowboys Executive V.P. Stephen Jones, who said Prescott is committed to improving and will be better than he was as a rookie.

“He knows he’s got to take his game to another level,” Jones said. “The great ones get better each year. I think he expects that from himself, I know he puts in the work, I know he’s a leader, the team responds to him, the team wants to play hard for him. That’s rare. I think he’s going to answer the bell and I think he’s going to be better than he was last year.”

The story said the team wants Prescott to be the face of the franchise and they think he's up for the challenge. With a strong offensive line and a boatload of weapons, including a great running game, Prescott should have some fantasy value as a QB2 or streaming play.

Giants WR Sterling Shepard is a lock to make the roster, as he returns as the starting slot receiver.

The only question is if Shepard, who logged 95 percent of the offensive snaps last season, will see his playing time decrease. Something has to give if the Giants are going to diversify their offensive personnel, and it seems reasonable for Shepard to sacrifice some of his snaps to accommodate more two-tight end sets.

Related players: Brandon Marshall, Evan Ingram

Shepard had an excellent spring, once again catching everything thrown his way and looking more explosive. His focus is increasing his yards after catch after averaging just 3.9 last season. It's entirely possible that Shepard will improve as a player but not see a significance jump in his stats due to a deeper and more balanced offense, the story said, but that won't help fantasy owners.

While the impasse between the Texans and left tackle Duane Brown likely will continue into training camp, receiver DeAndre Hopkins will report, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

Hopkins held out one day last year as he seeks a new contract.

Negotiations on a long-term deal for the Pro Bowl receiver have been quiet as the Texans head to camp, according to Wilson, but both sides are highly motivated to reach an agreement, the story said.

Larry Fitzgerald turns 34 next month. The Cardinals receiver reported to his 14th training camp still going strong, having caught 107 passes for 1,023 yards and six touchdowns last season.

“I can still play at a high level,” Fitzgerald said Sunday, via Josh Weinfuss of ESPN. “If my number is called, I can still make a play.”

Fitzgerald made it clear he isn’t going into this season thinking it’s his last, but he acknowledged it could be.

Fitz wants to decide on his own terms when he walks away, the story said, pointing to Lions receiver Calvin Johnson and NBA player Tim Duncan as examples.

Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was able to rehab alongside teammates during the Vikings' organized team activities and minicamp, throwing passes in individual drills and working on his dropback against a resistance band. He was wearing a knee brace at that time, but he posted a picture on Instagram earlier this month of him working without a brace.

Still, Bridgewater's road to recovery figures to be a tedious one. The Vikings head into the season with Sam Bradford as their starting quarterback and will practice with quarterbacks and rookies for the first time Monday.

Zimmer added he hasn't seen Bridgewater yet, but the QB is still shy of 11 months since his major left knee injury.

Ryan Mathews won’t be on the field Monday for the Eagles. He is still recovering from neck disk surgery, and his surgeon doesn’t want to revisit the matter until sometime next month, the source said.

Mathews, a hard-charging runner with an extensive injury history, had landed on injured reserve the week of the season finale against Dallas. He’d suffered a neck injury Dec. 23 against the Giants that capped a frustrating, erratic season for the Eagles’ leading rusher.

But Mathews had a year remaining on his contract. Releasing him while injured would cost the team more than $1.1 million, the money coming directly off the Eagles’ meager cap space. So the decision was to wait for Mathews to pass a physical, at which point he could be released. He’ll still count $1 million in dead cap money this year, but the Eagles won’t be paying him, the only thing affected will the cap space. If and when he passes the physical.

Related players: LeGarrette Blount, Donnel Pumphrey

Mathews is scheduled to make $4 million this season, and to count $5 million toward the cap, the story said. Given the signing of LeGarrette Blount and the drafting of Donnel Pumphrey, there is virtually no chance the team will keep Mathews around, when he is declared healthy, the story went on to say.

Bills WR Sammy Watkins rehab appears to be on schedule, as he was able to participate in a few team drills before the Bills wrapped up their spring practices. With six weeks between mandatory minicamp and start of training camp, Watkins should be close to 100 percent when camp starts Thursday.

“Credit to Sammy, credit to our training staff and the way he’s attacked the rehab with them," coach Sean McDermott said at that time, according to the Bills' official website. "That has to continue, though. This is one step in that process of getting Sammy back to where he needs to be and where we need him to be."

It's fair to say the Bills still need convincing that will happen. That was evidenced by the decision not to pick up Watkins' fifth-year contract option.

Related players: Zay Jones

The Bills may reduce his practice time and limit appearances in preseason games. The team has taken steps this offseason to prepare for what might happen if Watkins isn't healthy. The team drafted Zay Jones in the second round, and is expected to host veteran Anquan Boldin on a free-agent visit Monday. Of course, neither of those players would be expected to put up the kind of numbers Watkins is capable of when healthy, the story said.

Giants running back Paul Perkins has the greatest potential of any Giant for a second-year breakout. The key for the 2016 fifth-round pick is opportunity.

Perkins spent most of his rookie season backing up veteran Rashad Jennings before finally taking over as the starter in Week 17. With Jennings released this offseason, Perkins enters the season as the Giants' unquestioned No. 1 back.

In an uncharacteristic move, Giants coach Ben McAdoo named Perkins the starting running back this spring. That's a strong indication of how much the 5-foot-10, 208-pounder is valued. As long as Perkins proves that he can handle the increased responsibility, he should be the team's top running back all season, the story said.

Chargers first-round receiver Mike Williams is denying a report that he’ll need season-ending back surgery to repair a herniated disc.

Appearing at Alshon Jeffery’s football camp, Williams told reporters that his back is going to be fine.

“I’m good. Everything’s good,” Williams said. “The back situation, that was some false information being released. I don’t know who released it, but everything is good.”

Williams suffered the injury at rookie minicamp and hasn’t been able to do much in the Chargers’ offseason program since, but he apparently believes he’ll be healthy enough to play this season, without surgery.

The John Brown who took the field for the Arizona Cardinals' first training-camp practice of the season on Saturday looked like an updated version of John Brown from 2015.

Throughout the practice, Brown displayed the hands and speed that made him one of the league's toughest players to defend. And an extra 13 pounds of muscle had Brown looking the part of a game-changing receiver.

Brown believes the added bulk will help him this season as he tries to rebound from the worst season of his career, which was marred by the October diagnosis of being a carrier of the sickle cell trait. He also had a cyst on his spine that was drained after the season. A year after his first 1,000-yard season, Brown had a career-low 517 receiving yards, 39 catches and two touchdowns as he fought fatigue and injuries.

Dolphins RB Jay Ajayi averaged 17.3 carries per games last season, which ranked 11th in the league.

Here’s the best argument for feeding him the ball more often: The Dolphins were 8-0 when Ajayi had 18 or more carries. And they averaged 30.1 points in such games. They clearly benefited when Ajayi ran the ball frequently.

“In those games that I got to a certain amount of carries,” Ajayi said this offseason, “I feel like that was when our offense was doing the best.”

The story said getting Ajayi to 20 carries per game might be tough for a number of reasons. For example, if the run defense allows teams to control the clock like they did last season, or if the Dolphins fall behind, or if there are offensive line injuries, it could become tougher to run the ball. However, the story also mentioned Ajayi could, perhaps, get more involved in the passing game.

Cardinals coach Bruce Arians believes quarterback Carson Palmer wore out his arm during offseason workouts in 2016. This year, Palmer did a lot less — and he consequently has a lot more in the tank as preparations commence for the season to come.

“You feel like you have more zip, more velocity,” Palmer said before Saturday’s initial training-camp practice, via the Associated Press. “I feel like I can go out and throw 150 balls in practice. I don’t think I felt that way coming into camp last year.”

Fantasy owners may shy away from Palmer this year after last season and that's also reflected in our rankings where he comes in 20th. He may certainly be able to turn things around this season, and if he does, he would give owners some nice value as he'll likely be drafted as a lower end QB2.

Rivers played 15-plus games without having Keenan Allen in the lineup. Allen tore his ACL in the first game of the season, leaving him with just six catches for 63 yards to show for the year.

Allen, who also missed eight games with a lacerated kidney in 2015, was working on the field with the team during OTAs this spring and Rivers said he doesn’t think anyone will notice a difference in the wideout’s play.

“I really think he looks as good as he did before he got hurt,” Rivers said on The Rich Eisen Show.

In nine games he’s played over the past two seasons – yes, injuries are obviously a red flag – Keenan Allen has averaged 8.1 receptions for 88 yards and 0.44 TD (19.5 PPG). For his career, he is averaging 5.8 catches for 69 yards and 0.42 TD (15.3 PPG). If he stays healthy, he should provide low-end WR2 numbers, but has WR1 upside. The emergence of Tyrell Williams is a concern for Allen’s volume.

Cardinals are re-signing RB Chris Johnson, per source. Back for another season in Arizona, more backfield depth.

Related players: Kerwynn Williams

It looked like Williams was going to serve as David Johnson's backup, but now he'll have to compete with Johnson for that role.

Having spent fourth-, fifth- and seventh-round picks on running backs, there has to be some sort of pecking order behind Ty Montgomery to start Packers training camp, so Jamaal Williams will be the second man up in the rotation, RB coach Ben Sirmans said. He also might have the innate running ability to take some carries off Montgomery and have an immediate impact as a rookie after a distinguished career at BYU, where he departed as the Cougars’ all-time leading rusher. He could be the kind of between-the-tackles runner Lacy was in this offense, although Williams isn’t as big.

The RB2 competition is wide open, and while the youth movement might be slightly concerning to some, the Packers have the perfect position coach for this young group, as Sirmans is a former high-school physical education teacher and coached at Boston College, Michigan State, Kent State and Maine at the college level before getting his NFL break in 2012 with the then-St. Louis Rams.

“That can be a challenge. Fortunately, I have a little bit of experience with that,” Sirmans said. “The biggest thing is just competition, competition. With so many different guys, somebody is going to have to rise to the top and step up and be ready to play.”

Related players: Aaron Jones

Whoever is the #2 RB in this offense will have fantasy value since the Packers are unlikely to ride Montgomery for 20-plus touches per game. He's also not the most durable back, so a few starts out of Williams or Jones is entirely possible.

The Los Angeles Chargers are still hoping to avoid it, but first-round pick Mike Williams might need back surgery on his herniated disk that would end his rookie season, league sources tell ESPN.

Williams recently received a second epidural on his herniated disk in a last-ditch effort to have him ready at some time during training camp, though the Chargers are preparing as if he will not be ready by that time, per sources.

The team still is hoping that Williams will respond positively to the second epidural, but also knows there's a real chance he will not and his rookie year will be over before it begins.

Related players: Tyrell Williams, Keenan Allen, Travis Benjamin, Dontrelle Inman

This is obviously devastating news for Williams, but there have been negative reports surrounding the back all offseason. This is a big boost for Tyrell Williams' stock, and he'll no longer be flying under the radar in early drafts. He had a terrific 2016 season, showed very well as a route-runner, and should still be able to produce with Keenan Allen back in the lineup.

Last season, the longest of Bears RB Jordan Howard's six rushing touchdowns was 9 yards. He had seven runs of 25 yards or longer. But four of those seven possessions ended with field goals.

Howard spent parts of his offseason working on his acceleration.

"It's training," Bears coach John Fox said. "When you get to that (quality), it's more about track speed than football speed."

Howard took over the lead back duties in Week 3. From that point on, he was the #7 fantasy back in the league, averaging 16.1 fantasy points per game. In terms of likely workload, he’s one of the safest plays on the board since he averaged 20.5 touches per game in the second half of the season. He averaged 116 total yards and 0.5 TD in that span. The Benny Cunningham signing indicates that the Bears aren’t necessarily ready to give Howard a big role in the passing game, but it's good to hear he's working on his burst.

You knew Matt Ryan had faith in Austin Hooper when the league MVP targeted the rookie tight end on consecutive plays in the Super Bowl, the second resulting in a 19-yard touchdown.

The chemistry between the two Atlanta Falcons continued through organized team activities and minicamp, as Ryan put the Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots behind him and Hooper continued his maturation going into his second season in the offense.

Although Hooper's play stood out this offseason, he was far from content. So the Northern California native recently joined Ryan for three days of workouts in Southern California, a routine Ryan started last season while connecting with the experts at 3DQB training.

"That's what L.A. was about ... just another opportunity for me to work with the MVP and just understand exactly where he wants me to be," Hooper said, "and work routes that we both feel we can progress on."

Hooper had a quiet rookie season, but that's not unusual for a young tight end. He plays in a high-octane offense with one of the better quarterbacks in the league, so there is some upside here.

"Really, ever since we lost Ray Rice, we haven't had a type of back that’s quite like how Ray was and quite like how (Danny Woodhead) is in the passing game," quarterback Joe Flacco said. "They just have a very good feel for when they're open and how to get open, how to sit in holes, how to find my eyes, and you can already see that. You can see he has a really good feel for those kinds of things. If you remember back, obviously, Ray was really good at doing that, and that gives a lot to your offense for sure."

From 2009-13, no running back caught more passes than Rice, who averaged 67 receptions a season during that span. Over the past three campaigns, no Baltimore running back has totaled more than 45 catches.

Woodhead is expected to play a big role in the Ravens' passing game because two of Flacco's top underneath targets are gone. Tight end Dennis Pitta was released after re-injuring his right hip, and fullback Kyle Juszczyk signed with the San Francisco 49ers in free agency.

We can file this one under "Duh." Woodhead should catch a ton of passes for the Ravens, though we are a bit concerned about his playing time when Kenneth Dixon returns from suspension. Woodhead's third-down/hurry-up role should be safe with Dixon pushing Terrance West for carries on early downs.

TMZ Sports has obtained video of the victim moments after he was struck in the face by an assailant at Clutch Bar in Dallas.

The person who shot the video tells us the man was involved in a verbal altercation with a woman who was in Ezekiel Elliott's party ... when Ezekiel got involved.

The witness says she saw Ezekiel punch the man -- corroborating the story the victim's friend told police.

However, cops at the scene could not confirm Zeke was the attacker and he has not been arrested or charged with a crime.

We spoke with the NFL -- and we're told the league is now looking into the matter to "understand the facts."

Per Adam Schefter, Elliott is already "bracing" for a short suspension (1-2 games?) for another incident. We'll see how this story develops over the next few days. If there is a complaint filed against Elliott or if charges are brought, the NFL will be sure to investigate.

Texans rookie running back Donta Foreman was arrested for unlawful carrying of weapons and possession of marijuana on Sunday, according to the University of Texas Police Department.

Cindy Posey, the Director of Communication for the University of Texas Police Department, said in a statement to NFL Media that "officers responded to a report of the smell of marijuana coming from three occupied vehicles" near a residential hall on campus at 12:24 a.m. on Sunday. After arriving to the scene, officers "discovered marijuana in each vehicle and also discovered a firearm in one of them."

Foreman, the owner of the firearm, was subsequently arrested and booked into Travis County Jail.

Foreman was shaping up to be one of the more intriguing late-round attrition picks, but this is definitely a setback. He's likely to be suspended for a few games as a result of this.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that while the investigation is still ongoing, Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is bracing for a short suspension stemming back to his alleged domestic violence incident in 2016.

We have reduced our projections for expected games played from 15 to 14, allowing for a one-game suspension and one missed game due to injury. He's still a top 4 running back in both PPR and standard formats, but owners may want to nab his handcuff, Darren McFadden, to cover their bases.

In the brief time Bengals HC Marvin Lewis and RB Joe Mixon have spent together on the field, the coach has been impressed.

"He's off the charts talent-wise," Lewis said. "Big, fast, catch, run, see, smart -- and he's a 20-year-old kid. He's as smart as a whip."

Giovani Bernard is no sure bet to be healthy to start the season. Jeremy Hill has been an effective goal line back, but has averaged a paltry 3.67 YPC over the last two seasons. Mixon’s workload is a bit up in the air, but he has a good chance to lead the Cincy backs in touches. We should know more once we see the pecking order in training camp, though it feels like Mixon will be expected to contribute heavily as a rookie.

Offensively, 49ers TE George Kittle could very well be an impact player as a rookie. You keep hearing his name for a reason. The tight end’s play during minicamp earned himself some publicity. John Lynch continued to build the excitement around Kittle during a phone interview with KNBR.

“He’s really flashed,” Lynch said. “He’s got some suddenness to him in his movements. He catches the ball extremely well. George gives us something we don’t have as a playmaker down in the red zone. He is that guy who can win 1-on-1. He can impose his will and out-athlete people. He’s exceeded our expectations.”

It sounds as if the rookie might have a chance to start over incumbent Vance McDonald. Rookie tight ends rarely make much of a fantasy impact, but the 5th round pick compares athletically to O.J. Howard.

Lions TE Eric Ebron on Sirius XM: The way they are going to go about using me this year has me "overly excited." It's going to be fun for me.

Ebron is being drafted late (9th round) considering he finished #14 in total points and #12 in points per game. He only caught one touchdown, so he’s due for positive regression after catching five touchdowns in 2015. He set career highs in targets (85), receptions (61) and yards (711), and finished with the 9th-most targets per game at his position. He's a definite breakout candidate in his 4th year.

Very few players have secured their starting jobs for the upcoming season. Carlos Hyde is not among those.

He is entering the final year of his contract, and we all know how badly Shanahan and running backs coach Bobby Turner wanted Joe Williams in the draft. Shanahan and Turner would not have stood on the table for Williams if they did not have a clear vision for how he fits into their offensive plan.

Hyde is an immensely talented running back whose bid for 1,000 yards came up just 12 yards short due to a late-season knee injury. He is healthy. But he is learning a new system. Shanahan and Turner hand-picked a running back they believe best-fits the requirements of the position in their scheme.

Hyde is probably still the favorite to win the starting job, but he will have to earn it. However it shakes out, it is probably safe to assume the club will employ more of a backs-by-committee approach with Williams and Tim Hightower available for key roles.

In 20 games over the past two seasons, Hyde has averaged 16.6 carries for 73 yards and 0.45 touchdowns. His 13.9 PPG (PPR) in that span is better than what Frank Gore averaged as the #12 fantasy running back last season. Hyde’s injury history is concerning, as is Kyle Shanahan’s infatuation with rookie Joe WIlliams. He’s a risky pick given all that’s going on in the San Francisco backfield. WIlliams' 12th-round ADP makes him an attractive attrition play.

Patriots running back coach Ivan Fears said in the spring that RB Mike Gillislee was working through something health-wise, but it didn't seem to be a long-term concern.

Related players: James White, Dion Lewis, Rex Burkhead

There were no other details about the injury in the story, but as the author said, it's certainly something to pay attention to once camp starts. Gillislee could earn the early-down role in the Pats offense, like LeGarrette Blount, and be someone who steals TDs deep in the red zone.

Some might ask the question: Is RB Dion Lewis really a lock to make the Patriots?

To me, he adds an element of explosiveness and quickness that isn't otherwise on the roster at the position. Also, the Patriots are 17-0 in games Lewis has played over the last two years. While that isn't all because of Lewis, it's a reflection, in part, on his impact.

Related players: Mike Gillislee, James White, Rex Burkhead

The Patriots have depth at RB. The story thinks Mike Gillislee, James White, Lewis and Rex Burkhead make the team. Brandon Bolden and D.J. Foster are also possibilities. Of course the issue with Lewis is injuries. How the RB roles play out this year will be a huge fantasy question entering 2017.

Aaron Rodgers is far from old. But he’s also not in denial about where he is in his career.

The 33-year-old Packers quarterback told the NFL Network he’s still feeling good, but knows what’s in front of him.

“I think I’m on the back nine of my career,” Rodgers said. “But I think I’m just kind of starting the back nine. This will be my 10th year starting, I got to sit for three years. So I’m not the typical 13-year pro, having the opportunity to sit for three years and not take the wear and tear to learn the game.”

As the story said, of course if you extend the golf metaphor literally and he’s halfway finished, that could mean another 10 years, putting him into Tom Brady-if-he-ever-gets-old territory. But it’s hard to think about the eventual end, when Rodgers is playing at his best right now. He threw 40 touchdowns and just seven interceptions last year, and is about to do some unprecedented things in terms of career statistics, the story went on to say. Current and potential owners shouldn't worry too much about the end at this point.

It was interesting to hear Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders describe the new version of offensive coordinator Mike McCoy's system.

"We've got this new offense with Mike McCoy," Sanders said. "We're going to be throwing the ball around so my conditioning has to be up and I've been working on that."

Related players: Demaryius Thomas, Paxton Lynch, Trevor Siemian

An evolved Sanders and a healthy Demaryius Thomas could go a long way toward bolstering confidence in the Broncos' passing game. Like Sanders himself, it could look quite different in 2017, the story said. Sanders also talked about the different styles the QBs have, saying Lynch likes to throw the deep ball while Siemian seems more practical.

Healthy franchise quarterbacks don’t hit the open market. Next year, two of them could.

In addition to Washington’s Kirk Cousins (who threw for more than 4,900 yards last season), Saints quarterback Drew Brees could be available to the highest bidder and/or the best chance to pursue another Super Bowl.

Last year, as Brees was entering the final year of his contract, he signed a one-year extension. Which now puts him in the same place he was a year ago — one season removed from free agency. This time around, however, there is no discussion about an extension.

The story quoted Brees from January saying he wants things to "take form and take shape" for the next year while he puts forth his best effort for the Saints. The story also pointed out that Saints GM Mickey Loomis is also fine with Brees' approach.

It wasn’t hard to find Kyle Rudolph’s name while looking up stats and numbers among tight ends during the 2016 season.
The Vikings tight end was near the top in almost all major statistical categories, as Rudolph finished third among all tight ends with 83 catches, tied for third with seven touchdown catches and was fourth with 840 receiving yards.
So are the numbers Rudolph put up this past season the benchmark for himself going forward?
“Absolutely. I want 2016 to be a springboard for me to bigger and better things,” Rudolph said. “That’s kind of what I’ve always expected out of myself in terms of statistics and numbers, and that’s going to be the baseline for my career moving forward.”

Rudolph was a key component to Sam Bradford’s success in 2016, especially after the quarterback joined the Vikings just eight days before the starts of the season. Bradford’s first touchdown pass in Purple, and three of his first four passing scores, all went to Rudolph. The tight end eventually hauled in more than one-third (seven of 20) of Bradford’s touchdown passes.

It’s an understatement to say the Ravens’ wide receiving corps looks better now. It looks a whole lot better. As a dedicated route runner, Jeremy Maclin offsets the pure speed of Mike Wallace, who surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in his first season with the Ravens in 2016. And together, as veterans with track records, Maclin and Wallace give Breshad Perriman some breathing room.

Honestly, I think that’s one of the most positive byproducts of adding Maclin.

It’s easy to portray the move as a subtle jab at Perriman, the 23-year-old former first-round draft pick who was penciled in to start opposite Wallace until Maclin came along, and now shapes up as the No. 3. But I think it’s a great move for Perriman.

The author went on to say before Maclin joined the team, Perriman was in a situation he saw as fairly precarious. After losing his rookie season to a knee injury, he only had one up-and-down season on his resume, and it was clear in that season that he needed to become more polished and consistent. Yet now he was going to be starting on an offense under intense scrutiny after underperforming in 2016. He went on to say Perriman can now "just play."

‘Tis the season for off-site passing camps, and 49ers starter Brian Hoyer is taking his guys to Texas.

According to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, Hoyer gathered the 49ers skill position players in Dallas Monday for three days of work to carry them through the break before training camp opens.

“It is such a long period of time that you want to get together at least for some period,” Hoyer said. “We’ll get as many guys together as we can. We can’t accommodate everybody [because] people are coming in from all across the country. So we’re going to get together, get three days in, and then come back ready to go July 27.”

Related players: Jeremy Kerley, Marquise Goodwin, Vance McDonald

As the story said, it's not an impressive list of names, but Hoyer was brought in because he knows HC Kyle Shanahan's system. It doesn't look like 49ers will be flying off your board early when draft day comes around, but there could be some waiver value after a few weeks of the season go by.

Once Robert Turbin locked up the backup RB role in 2016, he flourished in a variety of areas for the Colts.

The Colts have talked about furthering the usage of Turbin this coming season.

After the team’s 2017 offseason program, both offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski and general manager Chris Ballard were extremely high on Turbin.

Of course, more Turbin means less Frank Gore.

Related players: Marlon Mack

Using Turbin on earlier downs and possibly having him start a series or two makes complete sense, the story said. Mack likely also plays a role as a third down back, as long as he picks up the blocking aspect of the game, which is obviously a big deal. The story said Mack is no sure thing when it comes to projecting his workload, so perhaps expect a lot of Gore and Turbin early in the season. But the Colts are definitely looking to keep Gore healthy for what they expect to be playoff football in January.

Now that Emmanuel Sanders has hit 30 he has had to make some changes. For starters, the Broncos receiver has eliminated fast food from his diet.

“I was eating bad,’’ Sanders told Mike Klis of Denver’s 9NEWS while hosting his youth football camp. “If I was hungry I would sometimes go through the McDonald’s line and grab me a 20-piece [Chicken McNuggets]. I would go through Burger King, just fast food because I was ready to eat now.

“But now I’m listening to my body a lot more. There’s something about being able to understand your body. What you can put in your body that gives you a burst of energy, or what you put in your body that makes you go to sleep. That’s what I’m understanding more.’’

Sanders enters his eighth season energized, feeling like a rookie all over again — at least physically, the story said. He was quoted as saying he' has a better sense of direction, and is looking for between 1,200-1,300 yards this year.

The Kansas City Chiefs named Brett Veach as their new general manager on Monday, the team announced.

Veach, the Chiefs' co-director of player personnel, replaces John Dorsey, who was fired last month by the Chiefs after four seasons.

"Brett has a sharp football mind, a tremendous work ethic and a keen eye for finding talent. Over the last four seasons he's played a critical role in building our football team. I look forward to working with him to continue to build on the strong foundation we have in place," Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said in a statement.

Giants RB Shane Vereen admitted this spring that he was a little too eager and rushed back too soon. This time around, he and the training staff are taking their time so Vereen can be ready for Week 1, which is the first priority.

Vereen was a regular attendee in the Giants’ offseason workout program, but the team limited his workload.

“[The process] was long,” Vereen said. “It wasn’t the easiest, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to get back. And this team is important to me, so I was willing to do anything to get back.”

Vereen added: “I’m feeling good. I’m just blessed to be back out. I’m happy to be back out with the guys and working towards the same goal. … It’s weird being the older guy, but I’m enjoying it. I’m trying to get everybody onboard and be the leader that the room needs.”

Related players: Paul Perkins

Vereen tore his triceps twice last year, in Week 3 and again in Week 15. He returns as the team's most experienced running back, with Paul Perkins the starter. The Giants also took steps to improve the O-line as the team was just 30th in yards per carry last year at 3.5. Vereen should resume his normal third down, pass-catching role and be a useful PPR fantasy option.

Falcons receiver Mohamed Sanu is a man on a mission this offseason.

While Sanu caught a career-best 59 passes for 653 yards and four touchdowns in his first season with the Falcons, he appears to be hardly satisfied.

Want proof? Just check out his Twitter timeline. The 27-year-old has been one of the Falcons’ most vocal players on social media over the past couple of months when talking about his mindset for the upcoming season.

Sanu is tweeting things 'Get better today' when talking about his workouts. The story said he is looking to become more of a leader by example this season. Also according to the story, he's dropped just three balls out of 109 catchable passes the last two seasons.

And now the countdown hits seven.

That’s how many days the Washington Redskins have to pull out all the stops and hammer out a long-term deal with quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Otherwise, if 4 p.m. on Monday, July 17, comes and goes without an agreement, Cousins will play a second straight season on the franchise tag. And in that case, the Redskins will face the strong likelihood that they’ll lose one of the most prolific quarterbacks in franchise history to free agency in 2018.

The story went on to say despite optimism expressed this offseason by Redskins officials, two people familiar with the situation said late last week that little to no progress has been made in negotiations. Meanwhile, many people around the league still call it a long shot that the team and player will agree to a multiyear deal because of how Washington has handled negotiations leading up to this point.

When the Denver Broncos open their season on Sept. 11, either Trevor Siemian or Paxton Lynch will be the starting quarterback.

A few things have to happen before coach Vance Joseph makes the call. Each quarterback has some fine-tuning and studying to do to learn the new offense. And each must be careful in how he spends the rest of the summer vacation.

"As I've said to all the players, not just [the quarterbacks]: Learn the system. That's the most important," offensive coordinator Mike McCoy said before the Broncos adjourned for their summer break. "I consistently say, 'When you leave this office, you have to study.' Everybody has talent; the key is learning [the plays] and knowing what to do. Everybody, including [the quarterbacks], has to put themselves in a position to come back here for camp ready to compete for a job."

Siemian and Lynch, along with the team's running backs, wide receivers and tight ends, will have a Manning-esque passing camp in Los Angeles in the coming days. Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas said at minicamp last month that "it's a priority for us to get together," the story went on to say.

During an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio with Ross Tucker and Bob Papa, Panthers coach Ron Rivera reiterated those hopes as well as the kind of offense that the Panthers see as an example of where they’d like to go.

“Look what they did in Pittsburgh with Ben Roethlisberger,” Rivera said. “Look what they did with the type of players they put in their backfield, put in their receiving corps. They run the ball with a very quick, slashing style running game. They can ground and pound it at the same time with the same running game. Then they’ve got some very versatile, quick receivers that make plays once they get the ball in their hands.”

Related players: Cam Newton, Christian McCaffrey, Curtis Samuel

In the weeks and months since the Panthers selected running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Curtis Samuel in the first two rounds of this year’s draft, they’ve made no secret about how they hope the two players fit into their offense. The team sees the rookies as adding an explosive element to the unit because of their speed, especially when it comes to catching a short pass from Cam Newton and turning it into a big game. Getting the ball out to them quickly would also likely limit the hits Newton takes in the pocket, something that would double the benefit of expanding the ranks of playmakers on offense in Charlotte, the story went on to say.

Mark Ingram undoubtedly elevated his game after being briefly demoted during the 2016 season after fumbling issues occurred. He ended the season with a combined 10 touchdowns.

Will Ingram replicate those numbers? It will be a challenge to say the least. And it's not because Ingram will regress, but more about the contenders the Saints brought in this offseason at running back.

Adrian Peterson will compete with Ingram for carries as Peterson replaces Tim Hightower in the backfield.

Related players: Alvin Kamara

The Saints drafted Kamara to revive the Reggie Bush-Darren Sproles role as a versatile option in the run and pass game. The big question is how much will Peterson cut into Ingram's workload. The story said Peterson is replacing Hightower, but it could be hard for the team to keep a healthy Peterson off the field - which is potential bad news for Ingram's fantasy owners.

North Dakota does not pop up on many lists of the best places for summer travel, but the state is getting a boost to this year’s numbers.

They have native son Carson Wentz to thank for that. Several Eagles receivers put posts on social media Sunday regarding travel to Fargo — Alshon Jeffery can ask Nelson Agholor about a burger recommendation — for some pre-camp work with Wentz.

Outside of the location, there’s nothing unusual about the Eagles getting together to work on their own ahead as many teams have players making similar arrangements.

Related players: Torrey Smith, Jordan Matthews

The story didn't mention which WRs were there outside of Jeffery and Smith, but Matthews and Agholor made the trip last year. Of course, Jeffery and Smith are new additions, so any extra time Wentz can spend with these guys will be a great help to everyone's fantasy production in 2017.

RB Rashad Jennings is still without a team after the Giants released the tailback in February, but expects to be employed by the time the season kicks off. In fact, he believes his offseason of dancing and touring will actually help him secure a spot on some team's roster.

"I'm in the best shape of my life. I'm always going to be in shape," Jennings told The News & Advance, while hosting his 180 Weekend in Lynchburg, Virginia. "That's what I'm known for across the league. A team knows they're going to have a player that's going to be in the best shape of their life."

Jennings may have to wait for an injury to take place, which always seems to happen before the season start. As the story pointed out, he's coming off one of his worst statistical seasons, running for just 593 yards at 3.3 yards per carry.

Demaryius Thomas has no plans to slow down.

He knows former Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson retired at 30, and he’s seen other wide receivers lose a step as they reach their 30s.

Thomas is doing everything in his power to make sure that doesn’t happen to him. As he approaches his 31st birthday in December, he still has plenty he hopes to accomplish.

“It’s a change of my diet, the way I work out [and] take care of my body,” Thomas said. “I still remember the talk I had with [former Broncos safety] Brian Dawkins, and he was telling me the things that I should do and change up, because as you know, the first two years, I was injured. [I] talked to him and [former Broncos cornerback] Champ [Bailey], and they kind of helped me out and gave me the path and I took it and ran with it. Ever since then, I haven’t missed a game and don’t plan on missing one.”

Thomas has been an iron man on the Broncos roster since the end of his 2011 season. He’s started 90 straight games, even as he’s battled hip pain for much of the recent past, the story said. That pain is gone now and Thomas, and fantasy owners, could again expect the stats that tend to accompany a player of his caliber. Reunited with OC Mike McCoy and challenged by HC Vance Joseph, a healthy Thomas could be a focal point of the Broncos offense.

Part of me wants to believe in Cody Kessler.

I'm talking about him becoming a decent NFL quarterback who can be an Alex Smith-type game manager. Or maybe a Brian Hoyer-style quarterback.

When it comes to Kessler, I have significant doubts. In minicamps, he had too many passes batted down at the line of scrimmage. He seldom completed deep balls. He was accurate on short throws.

He is an inexperienced quarterback who will be throwing to mostly inexperienced receivers. He should have more time, thanks to a revamped offensive line.

Related players: Brock Osweiler, DeShone Kizer

This may be the longest story you ever read on Kessler and the Cleveland QBs. Basically, this writer is higher on Osweiler than most others and not quite as high on Kizer ... and perhaps somewhere in the middle with Kessler. He seems to think Kizer has a lot to learn before he takes the field. There don't seem to be a lot of writers who are even considering Osweiler for the job so it very well may be Kessler's to win. He will have an improved O-line but also a lot seemingly working against him, according to this piece anyway.

As the Rams turn the page on a disastrous 2016 season, questions remain regarding whether they made the right move by trading up for quarterback Jared Goff. That question will be answered by the ability of new coach Sean McVay to get the most out of Goff.

Running back Todd Gurley likes what he’s seen in 2017, so far.

“He’s been getting better.” Gurley told SiriusXM NFL Radio, via NFL.com. “Obviously, he didn’t go No. 1 for no reason. He has the talent, and he’s just been getting better. He definitely had a great OTAs, great minicamp. Coaches have been doing a good job with him. Just his preparation, him being there all day, he’s been great so far, man, so I’m definitely looking forward to it.”

The story said, of course, Gurley is also looking for to improve this season after a drop off from 2015 to 2016. The hope is both can take advantage of what the other brings to the field. Gurley is ranked 13th on our list this season and can be had in the early-to-mid second round.

Jets beat writer Rich Cimini answered a question about the Jets quarterback situation:

You're assuming Josh McCown will be the opening-day starter, and I happen to agree with you even though it's not quite a done deal.

Presumably, coach Todd Bowles, who needs to win games to keep his job, won't bench McCown if the team is winning. Beyond job security, what kind of message would it send to the locker room if Bowles demotes a productive player?

General manager Mike Maccagnan is looking at the big picture, and he recognizes the importance of playing Christian Hackenberg. Personally, I think Hackenberg needs at least 10 starts to get a fair evaluation.

The question was mostly about the Jets getting off to a good start, and how it would make getting a look at Hackenberg more difficult because the team would have to bench a successful McCown. Cimini feels there will be an internal struggle between present and future at the position at some point this season. Cimini added Bowles and Maccagnan are both level-headed men and should be able to tell the difference between charade and reality should it get to that point.

With Jacquizz Rodgers re-signed early in free agency and Charles Sims returning from injury, this group is deep enough that it can easily field a full rotation of backs even while Doug Martin is out due to his suspension. It may not be until Martin's return that the overwhelming numbers lead to difficult decisions.

Martin has two Pro Bowl years in his five seasons in the league but was beset by injuries and other troubles last year. After using the first part of the year to attend to his personal issues, he has returned to the field looking as fit and ready as he did at this time in 2015 before a monster campaign. If Martin does indeed display his 2015 form, there's little question he'll be the lead back in 2017.

Related players: Jeremy McNichols

While it doesn't make for a good fantasy situation, the Bucs have other candidates for first and second-down snaps. Rodgers was very impressive in relief of both Martin and Sims last year. In addition, rookie Jeremy McNichols looks to be cut from the same cloth as Martin and could either be a lead back or a very useful third-down asset thanks to his reliable hands and well-developed pass-protection skills, the story went on to say.

When tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins came into the NFL as a 2014 second-round pick of the Buccaneers, there were no shortage of predictions of big things for a player with the kind of size and athleticism that has helped other tight ends find success.

It didn’t play out that way in Tampa as injuries limited him to 16 games in the two years before a DUI arrest led to the Bucs dumping him from the roster last year. Seferian-Jenkins landed with the Jets, but only caught 10 passes in seven games that showed little difference from what had come before.

“I feel like a different person on and off the field,” Seferian-Jenkins said, via the team’s website. “The weight loss has been tremendous and I’m just really happy I have the opportunity to show the Jets taking a chance on me is going to pay off. I’m just trying to work every single day on the team like everybody else.”

The story said Seferian-Jenkins stopped drinking and lost weight ahead of this year’s offseason program and drew good notices from beat reporters who took in Jets practices. Seferian-Jenkins believes that those off-field changes will help him on the field this fall.

After the Broncos offseason program came to an end, a report from Denver said that quarterback Paxton Lynch’s “switch was flipped” in the final weeks of their workouts and one of the team’s top receivers agrees with that assessment.

Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas was asked at his youth football camp on Friday about Lynch’s competition with Trevor Siemian for the team’s starting job and said that Lynch made his strongest argument as the team was wrapping up their work this spring.

“Trevor’s speaking up more than Paxton,” Thomas said, via Mike Klis of KUSA. “Paxton’s still young and Trevor played a lot more last year. They both had their up and down days. Trevor’s been pretty cool the whole time, everybody has their days. The first couple weeks, you see Paxton … people are talking about it, but the last couple of weeks where he was just out there lighting it up. It was like ‘Whoa, where did that come from?’”

The story went on to say Lynch said in June that he feels he got better “progressively” as his reps increased over the course of the offseason and more of the same when the team gets to camp later this month could make it hard for the Broncos to keep their 2016 first-round pick on the bench any longer.

The Baltimore Ravens didn't add any starting offensive linemen this offseason. They didn't sign someone to replace a Pro Bowl fullback, and their biggest acquisition in the backfield was pass-catching running back Danny Woodhead.

So how do the Ravens expect to improve one of the NFL's worst rushing attacks? It begins with the impressive track record of assistant coach Greg Roman.

From San Francisco to Buffalo, Roman has shown a knack for turning sputtering ground games into highly successful ones in his first season with a team.

Related players: Terrance West, Kenneth Dixon

Roman takes over a Ravens rushing attack that in 2015 and 2016 averaged 91.9 yards per game in those two seasons combined. Only the Chargers and Lions have averaged fewer yards the past two seasons. In 2011, in Roman's first season as San Francisco's offensive coordinator, the 49ers went from No. 19 in NFL rushing to No. 8. In 2015, the Bills' run offense jumped from No. 25 to No. 1 in Roman's first year as the playcaller, improving by a whopping 59.4 yards per game.

TE David Njoku, the youngest member of the Browns; youth-laden roster, will turn 21-years-old. But make no doubt the Browns rookie tight end and 29th overall NFL Draft pick looks and plays like a grown man, a dynamic that was plenty clear throughout OTAs and minicamp.

Njoku, the former Miami standout and national boys high jump champion, used a rare combination of size (6-foot-4, 246), speed, and instincts to emerge as one of the top players in this year’s Draft class.

Now, he’s poised to earn a key role on a new-look Cleveland offense that parted ways with veteran tight end Gary Barnidge in April.

The story said Njoku caught everything throw his way this spring, but did take reps with the second and third teams. Everyone seems excited about his potential and with Barnidge no longer with the team, and Njoku a first round pick, there's a good chance he'll eventually have the TE1 spot at some point sooner or later this season.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer expects running back Latavius Murray to be good to go by the start of training camp. Murray underwent ankle surgery in March and has spent the offseason rehabbing.

The Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who has sat out offseason practices because of shoulder surgery, is still on pace to return for training camp in late July, according to coach Andy Reid.

For the first time since rookie minicamp, Christian McCaffrey participated in Panthers practice on Thursday.

"It sucks whenever your team is competing and you're not," McCaffrey told reporters, per the team's website. "But you've got to follow the system, and I'm glad to be here now."

According to the Panthers' site, McCaffrey was thrown right into the fire, working out on kick coverage, participating as the fifth option in running back drills and even running plays out of the wildcat. The eighth overall pick said he was comfortable playing all over the field.

According to the story, Carolina's first-round pick had been restricted by an arcane rule from participating in organized team activities and the first two days of minicamp until his school year at Stanford, which operates on the quarter system, had ended. One day after the conclusion of classes Wednesday, McCaffrey made his debut.

After 850 yards last year, Jamison Crowder looks poised for his first 1,000 yard season for the Redskins. A healthy Jordan Reed can absolutely post four-figure yardage totals. On the outside, free agent addition Terrelle Pryor had a 1,000 yard season with the Browns last year, and playing with Cousins, should certainly be capable of that figure or more.

Don't forget 2016 first-round pick Josh Doctson, who appears to have his Achilles injuries that cost him his rookie season behind him.

Related players: Kirk Cousins

The story was about how the Skins are projected to once again be among the top passing teams this season, despite the loss of WRs Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson. The article feels Cousins is a safe bet for 4,500 passing yards. Under HC Jay Gruden, the Skins have thrown the ball at least 547 time each season it added. Part of that has to do with an inability to run the ball, even though they did well at times last year with Rob Kelley as the lead back.

Speaking Thursday on The Blitz with Bruce Murray and Kirk Morrison on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Cardinals running back David Johnson said his goal is to win a championship for Larry Fitzgerald and Carson Palmer.

"I don't know as far as the team, but for me, I feel like definitely [it's a goal to win for them]," Johnson said. "Because Carson, especially Carson and Larry, those two guys have taught me so much in these last two years that helped me so much with the playbook. Learning how to run a route effectively, it's not all about speed, it's also about technique and stuff. So I really want to do it for those guys. Especially since they're such -- not just great athletes, but great people off the field. So I feel like there's a little pressure on me to do as much as I can to get that ring for those two."

Palmer and Fitzgerald have reached the year-to-year portion of their NFL tenures -- seasons 15 and 14, respectively. Palmer reiterated last month that he'll decide his future after the season. The story added a deep playoff run, or even a Super Bowl win, could have a major influence on whether the two Cardinals stalwarts decide to return in 2018. For his part, Johnson said he wants to make sure he does everything in his power to buoy the offense and give Arizona the best chance to get that ring. Johnson said he's worked on his blitz pickups this offseason, which he admitted he struggled with at times in 2016. A motivated Johnson could be a nice piece for fantasy owners this season.

NFC North beat writers were asked about the Lions run game and the possibility of a balanced offense:

Rob Demovsky: In short, no, unless the return of Ameer Abdullah from the foot injury that ruined his 2016 season is a game-changer or Matt Asiata suddenly becomes something more than just the complementary piece he was in Minnesota. Otherwise, it looks a lot like the status quo for the Lions' offense, which will once again rely heavily on quarterback Matthew Stafford.

That's not a bad thing given his ability to get on a hot streak as he showed last season. The good news is he has an upgraded offensive line led by former Packers Pro Bowl guard T.J. Lang to protect him.

Related players: Theo Riddick

All three beat writers who write for opponents of the Lions in the NFC North seemed to agree the Lions will need to rely on Stafford again this season, and the run game's current status won't give the team balance on offense. No one thinks Abdullah is a sure thing, but if he can stay healthy he'll obviously give the run game a little boost.

This core group of skill Dolphin players is stocked with young players who are approaching their prime. That is a strong indication that the future is now for this group as it enters its second season together in head coach Adam Gase’s offense.

It's almost hard to fathom that Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, 28, is entering his sixth year as a starter. On paper, this is the best offense he's had, and now the pressure is on him to match or surpass last year’s production that included going 8-5 as a starter, which was the first winning season of his career.

Related players: Jay Ajayi, Kenny Stills, Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, Julius Thomas

The same group ranked 24th in total offense and 17th in scoring last season, but there were signs something positive was building, the story said. Adding TE Thomas could be huge if he can come close to repeating what he did with Gase in Denver, when he scored 24 TDs in two seasons.

Running back DeAngelo Williams still wants to play football.

“I’m definitely playing football,” Williams said. “I guess you could say I’m waiting on the phone call. I guess you could say that. I mean, not guess. You can say that. I’m waiting on the phone call with a G.M. or head coach or whoever decides they need my services. I’ll be ready. You can rest assured of that. I work out every day. I keep in shape because I know once that phone call comes — when it comes, not if — I’ll be ready to step up and deliver.”

Williams ran for 343 yards and four touchdowns for the Steelers last year. He also missed time with a knee injury and as the story said, it may take an injury to another player for that phone call to come.

I've read and heard it suggested that the TE situation is dire enough that the Ravens should sign a proven veteran tight end such as Gary Barnidge, formerly of the Cleveland Browns, to ensure they have someone who can handle the job.

But I think it's too soon to suggest the Ravens absolutely have to make a move. It's possible this could end up being a summertime worry that fades.

Keep an eye on Ben Watson. He's one year removed from a 74-catch season, and he's a pro's pro, adept at both blocking and catching. It was apparent at the team's mandatory minicamp last month that he is in terrific shape. He was on the field for some drills.

Related players: Nick Boyle, Crockett Gillmore, Maxx Williams

The Ravens looked very good at the position with six TEs not that long ago, but now there are major questions. Dennis Pitta's hip injury likely means his football career is over. Darren Waller is suspended for a year. That leaves Watson, Nick Boyle, Crockett Gillmore and Maxx Williams. It seems the team is really counting on the return of Watson to lead the way this season with Boyle also possibly getting a good look.

Part of Colts WR Donte Moncrief’s goals this offseason was to shed some weight in trying to achieve better conditioning.

Moncrief says he’s dropped around nine pounds (from 223 to 214) for the final season of his rookie contract.

“I feel better, faster and lighter,” Moncrief says.

This new version of Moncrief has left a strong first impression on Chris Ballard, who will have a decision to make next offseason on the future of No. 10.

“I thought Donte Moncrief had an outstanding, outstanding offseason,” Ballard said. “I want to see it continue into camp and into the season.

“We think he has great upside and I’ve really appreciated the way he’s worked.”

Related players: T.Y. Hilton

Moncrief had some injuries last season and was in and out of lineups, missing seven games. He now says he's in the "best shape and condition," according to the story. Moncrief has looked great so far, also according to the story, stepping in for T.Y. Hilton who has been sidelined.

Patriots beat writer Mike Reiss was asked which New England free agent signing could produce the most fireworks in 2017:

Reiss: I narrowed my choices to Mike Gillislee and Rex Burkhead because both project to be significant parts of the team's running back corps. I'll go with Gillislee.

Spring practices weren't the best showcase for Gillislee, whose forte isn't necessarily catching the football. So his role on the team, and his potential impact, will be better assessed when the pads come on and there is hitting and the running game can be worked on with few restrictions.

Related players: James White, Dion Lewis, D.J. Foster

Reiss wonders Gillislee will be an upgrade over LeGarrette Blount. If that answer turns out to be yes, it could be a huge fantasy story in 2017. Keep in mind the Patriots will still have James White, Dion Lewis, Rex Burkhead and possibly D.J. Foster at running back, so it won't all fall on Gillislee. But Gillislee projects as the most likely running back to fill the void left by Blount, who is now with the Eagles. It's a big opportunity for him, Reiss went on to say.

Zach Ertz led the Eagles in catches last season, and over the last four seasons he has caught a whopping 247 catches. He has caught at least 75 passes in each of the past two seasons, while Alshon Jeffery hasn't caught over 55 passes since 2014.

Combine Ertz's proven track record of production with the fact he probably has more on-field chemistry with Carson Wentz than any other player on the roster, and it would be surprising if Ertz didn't lead the team in catches this season.

Related players: Nelson Agholor, Torrey Smith, Jordan Matthews

This is just one opinion of course but worth taking into consideration as you start your preseason scouting. The author had Jeffery second, Jordan Matthews third and actually had Nelson Agholor fourth, ahead of Torrey Smith who was fifth.

I won’t rule WR Rodney Adams out of earning this role at some point this season with the Vikings, but I wouldn’t make him the favorite for the third receiver.

Laquon Treadwell has done nothing but impress since the offseason program began and I think he’s got a stronghold on the No. 3 spot.

I also wouldn’t count out Michael Floyd as the receiver who sees the third most snaps and/or targets by the time we get to the home stretch of the regular season. A big opportunity for Adams will be on special teams, where the kickoff return role is an open competition heading into training camp.

Related players: Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen

Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen look to have the top two spots while some talented players battle it out for the third spot. Treadwell, of course, was a first round pick in 2016 so one would think the Vikings would love to see more production from him this season.

Redskins coach Jay Gruden benched RB Matt Jones after a 20-17 loss to Detroit, in which he fumbled for the eighth time in his young career while fighting for extra yards just shy of the goal line. He was ruled inactive for the remainder of the season.

Heading into April's draft, the Redskins reportedly shopped Jones for a trade. Getting no offers, they used their fourth-round pick on Oklahoma's Samaje Perine, sending another signal that Jones didn't figure in their plans in 2017.

Related players: Rob Kelley, Chris Thompson, Mack Brown, Keith Marshall

The story said the team will carry six running backs into training camp this month: Jones, incumbent starter Rob Kelley, Perine, third-down specialist Chris Thompson, Mack Brown and rookie Keith Marshall. Jones' ball control issues likely have cost him a significant role this year the way it looks now.

When will Andrew Luck be playing quarterback again for the Colts?

That’s the question of the 2017 offseason here in Indianapolis.

Luck remains on the mend, not yet to the throwing portion of his rehab schedule.

“Still in the rehab process,” Luck said on Tuesday at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center.

“When the time is right for me to start throwing, I’ll start throwing.”

The story began by saying offseason shoulder surgery for Luck has him acting like a cornerback during his Change The Play program with Riley Children’s Hospital at IU Health this summer. In years past, Luck would throw to the kids in attendance as they rotated through drills. This year, Luck has had to dabble in trying to defend some of the youngsters going out for passes. The Colts start Training Camp on July 29, with the regular season opener coming on Sept. 10.

It came nearly two months after the fact, but Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has finally addressed the contention from his wife, Gisele Bundchen, that Brady suffered a concussion in 2016, and others before that.

Most significantly, Mr. Brady did not say that Mrs. Brady was misinformed.

“She’s there every day,” Brady said in an interview on ESPN’s E:60. “I mean, we go to bed, you know, in the same bed every night. So I think she’s, you know, she knows when I’m sore. She knows when I’m tired. She knows, you know, when I get hit. I mean, we drive home together. But she also knows how well, you know, I take care of myself. She’s a very concerned wife and very loving.”

In other words, if she says Brady had a concussion, he had a concussion.

The story went on to say, curiously, Brady wasn’t asked that specific question: Have you had concussions that weren’t disclosed to the team. Instead, the question seemed to regard concussions as a given. And if the question and answer fairly imply that, yes, he has had concussions, this raises plenty of questions about how he got those concussions and when he got those concussions and when he realized he had those concussions and who he told about those concussions. So where does it go from here? No one really knows. The issue of players potentially concealing a concussion seems to be far too significant to ignore, but the fact that Brady has played through multiple concussions during his career apparently will continue to be ignored, by the league, his team, and pretty much everyone — except by his spouse.

Ideally, Browns HC Hue Jackson would like to name his starting QB before the first preseason game against the Saints on Aug. 10 at FirstEnergy Stadium, but he might need to see some live action before making up his find.

Specifically, he might want to see how rookie DeShone Kizer fares against an opposing defense when the rush is live and he's getting hit. Jackson will need to strike a balance between letting the competition play out and giving his starter enough first-team reps before the season. I think it will start to become evident early on in camp what his thinking is.

Related players: Cody Kessler

The writer added Kizer and Cody Kessler split the first-team reps in spring practices and its expected that continues in the first week or so of camp. Kizer has narrowed the gap and is bearing down on Kessler, according to the story, but we're still a while away from a decision.

Bengals WR A.J. Green said he’d like to see himself playing a role similar to the one WR Julio Jones was able to play in Atlanta.

“Look at the year Julio had,” Green said, via the team’s website. “He was coming off an 1,800-yard season and he had what last year? (1,409). That’s because they put all the weapons around him. He still made the same plays he made when he had the 1,800 yards, but when they double-teamed him they had [Mohamed Sanu] and [Taylor] Gabriel. They’ve got to respect those guys. They went to the Super Bowl and Julio had [1,409] yards. It’s all about what you want. That’s the ultimate goal … to win the championship.”

Related players: John Ross, Josh Malone, Tyler Eifert

Jones had some help. But the Bengals drafted two receivers this year to help Green — John Ross and Josh Malone — to go with last year’s rookies Tyler Boyd and Cody Core, the story said. Brandon LaFell is also back at wideout while the hope in Cincinnati is that they’ll get more from tight end Tyler Eifert after he missed all of last season.

The Eagles announced Friday they cut the receiver. The team made the move after signing backup quarterback Dane Evans to a three-year contract.

Green-Beckham drew a lot of criticism in Philly and was tough to watch at times. Reports said he struggled to run routes correctly, something that dated back to his days in Tennessee. With an improved group of WRs like Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, it was only a matter of time before he was cut. He could find another home, but seems to be running out of chances.