July 2026 4for4 Player News Articles

Matt LaFleur said Tucker Kraft has been activated off PUP.

He won’t do any team drills but will do individual and walk throughs.

Related Players: Luke Musgrave, Josh Whyle

The news we were all hoping for. If Kraft is fully cleared by Week 1, we've got quite the formidable top-5 at the tight end position for what feels like ages. Kraft was the overall TE1 prior to his ACL tear last season and was on pace to legitimately have one of the best TE fantasy seasons in recent memory. If the fog from his injury scares leaguemates away, don't be afraid to pounce.

With concern about the status of receiver Ricky Pearsall's injured right knee, the San Francisco 49ers are turning to a familiar face, bringing back wideout Deebo Samuel to the place where he began his career. Sources told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport on Thursday night that the 49ers and Samuel reached agreement on a one-year deal that could be worth up to $7 million.

Related Players: Mike Evans, George Kittle, Christian Kirk, De'Zhaun Stribling, Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing

With Kirk (calf) also on the sideline throughout training camp, this signing quickly quelches the flames of the Stribling buzz we've seen over the last couple of days.

If you were looking for the perfect landing spot for a Deebo Samuel bounce-back after a mediocre one-year stint with the Commanders, this is the one. With 49ers injuries at the running back position as well as the WR room, Samuel could add a handful of rushes into the mix as well. That doesn't make him a WR2 all of a sudden, but he's still an intriguing dart throw, depending on where his ADP ends up after this signing.

Just in: Saints are signing WR Chris Olave to a four-year extension worth up to $132 million, including $90 million guaranteed, his agents Drew and Jason Rosenhaus tell ESPN.

Related Players: Jordyn Tyson, Devaughn Vele, Mason Tipton

Well, if the Saints aren't concerned about Olave's blood clot issue, then maybe we shouldn't be either. Olave was absent from OTAs earlier this summer, but we could take this as a sign that they're not concerned about that being a long-term issue. If he is ready ahead of Week 1, he should return fringe WR1/2 value on what is a pretty interesting offense.

Panthers rookie WR Chris Brazzell will undergo season-ending surgery on his torn LCL, as @josephperson reported. Brazzell injured his knee during Wednesday’s practice.

Related Players: Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker, Xavier Legette, John Metchie

We posted yesterday that Brazzell could miss "up to" 8 weeks, and, well, that initial report was clearly too optimistic. Legette now has a clear runway to lock down the WR3 role in Carolina, but that shouldn't give us enough confidence to push him into our draft boards. In addition to being obviously terrible news for Brazzell himself, this could also impact McMillan's season-long ability to line up on the inside more often, as the rookie was slated to stress the defense as a vertical X receiver had he won the WR3 job. Now it comes down to a Legette breakout to add some further legitimacy to this passing attack.

Baker Mayfield tells ESPN the Bucs offered him a two-year deal, which was ‘probably the most disappointing’ part. Wanted long-term commitment.

Added Bucs were ‘pretty far’ from $50+M per club, which he wanted to enter.

Related Players: Jake Browning

It's becoming more and more likely that Mayfield hits the open market post-2026, which adds an intriguing wrinkle to his Dynasty outlook. As for this season, he's still behind a great offensive line, with a nice WR room, which makes him a viable QB2 or a great streaming option, should he go undrafted.

Panthers rookie WR Chris Brazzell II suffered a moderate LCL tear in his left knee in practice & he’s expected to miss up to 8 weeks, per league source.

Brazzell will get a second opinion. He’s competing for WR3 role. NFL Week 1 is 6 1/2 weeks away.

Related Players: Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker, Xavier Legette, John Metchie

This might be Legette's last chance to prove he should be suiting up for the Panthers. In addition to being bad news for Brazzell himself, this could also impact McMillan's early-season ability to line up on the inside more often, as the rookie was slated to stress the defense as a vertical X receiver had he won the WR3 job. Brazzel's best ball validity takes a hit.

49ers RB Jordan James suffered a rib fracture in Monday’s practice. He will miss some time.

S Malik Mustapha has a hamstring strain. Neither practicing today, obviously.

Related Players: Christian McCaffrey, Kaelon Black, Isaac Guerendo, Sincere McCormick

"Some time" seems like an undersell for a rib fracture, but we shall see. With Guerendo currently on the PUP list, this should give some extra run for rookie Kaelon Black, but there's also a chance we could see the team find some help on the free agent market as well. Black is instantly more intriguing behind CMC, potentially the most used back in the league.

49ers WR Ricky Pearsall is dealing with knee swelling related to the PCL injury he suffered last year. Team says “all options” are being explored and there is some concern.

Related Players: Mike Evans, Christian Kirk, Demarcus Robinson, De'Zhaun Stribling

Pearsall has flashed when healthy and on the field, but that hasn't been a very common occurrence through his young career. Kirk is also dealing with a calf strain at the moment, so we could see some upward momentum for rookie De'Zhaun Stribing before camp is over. He's currently off the redraft fantasy radar, but we should keep an eye on some extra snaps for him over the next month.

Michael Penix Jr. said it might be another four weeks to get cleared or maybe earlier, depending on how his body feels during camp.

Related Players: Tua Tagovailoa, Cooper Rush

This comes on the heels of Tagovailoa dealing with a tight back and the team signing Rush earlier today. The QB situation in Atlanta is as shaky as ever, and it's not great news for the team's fantasy pieces. We'll see how this clears out between now and Week 1, but it would be fantastic for Drake London and Kyle Pitts' ceiling outcomes if this gets settled sooner rather than later.

Nick Caserio said wide receiver Jaylin Noel hurt his finger and should be back in a few weeks.

Related Players: Nico Collins, Jayden Higgins, Tank Dell

With positive news coming out about Dell making strides toward his long-term comeback, this could be about the worst time for Noel to be missing time. For the time being, Noel should probably be considered the fourth fantasy option out of this group, unless we hear of a setback for Dell.

Jaguars RB Chris Rodriguez (foot) has been cleared and will do individual work today but team will ramp him up so no team work initially. Same for CB Christian Braswell.

Related Players: Bhayshul Tuten, LeQuint Allen

The Chris Rodriguez hype has been dissipating as the summer has moved along, as his Liam Coen Kentucky connection seems to have been overshadowed by the fact that he has six professional receptions over three seasons. With LeQuint Allen handling most of the third-down snaps and Bhayshul Tuten offering explosives in all aspects of the game, Rodriguez has a very narrow path to become anything more than a low-end RB3.

Texans receiver Tank Dell continues to make major strides in comeback from major knee injury from December, 2024.

It was tough injury to watch if you happened to be tuned into the game that day. Wilson went on say in the post that Dell is regaining explosiveness, cutting ability and strength. Wilson then added that all involved are encouraged by his outlook heading into camp and Dell has had a productive summer. It's a great sign that Dell avoided the PUP list, so it looks like he could be ready to go in some capacity for Week 1.

The Raiders signed quarterback Kirk Cousins to be their starter, and that’s exactly how he’s set to enter training camp.

“When we go out to practice tomorrow, Kirk Cousins is the starting quarterback,” head coach Klint Kubiak told reporters in his Tuesday press conference. “He’s the guy. And he’s going to get a ton of reps. And he deserves them, because he’s played really good football.

“But I want Fernando Mendoza and I want Aiden O’Connell to push him.”

It seems like a lot would have to change between now and Sept. 13 for Mendoza to be Las Vegas’ QB1 when the club plays Miami in Week 1, the story went on to say. We've seen this play out before, though, and depending on how the Raiders season goes, and how Cousins plays, one can probably assume we'll see Mendoza at some point this season as the Raiders QB1.

Mickey Loomis said Chris Olave is now full go and has no restrictions.

Terrell mentioned in the post that Olave told her earlier in the summer that he was expected to get off blood thinners before camp. He has been limited all offseason due to the blood clot he had in January. Olave is ranked 12th on our list, making him a borderline WR1. But as our John Paulsen says Olave is more likely a WR2 whose ceiling requires touchdowns that aren't guaranteed to repeat. Olave had a 100-1,163-9 line last season which was a huge bounce back from the year before.

The Vikings’ quarterback competition between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy is about to heat up.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters in his Tuesday press conference that Murray and McCarthy will each take reps with the club’s first-team and second-team offense to begin training camp.

O’Connell also noted that Minnesota has a date in mind to choose the QB1, though he did not disclose it, according to the story. The story went on to say O'Connell met with everyone to talk about the vision and plan. Murray is fully expected to come away with the job after signing with the Vikings in the offseason. Assuming he wins the job, Murray gets a great supporting cast around him. He'll just need to stay healthy. We rank him 16th among our QBs, making him a solid QB2 option for this season.

Zach Charbonnet’s readiness for Week 1 looms as a potential close call—and the Seahawks are going to be smart with him, in the hopes that they get his best when it matters most.

Related players: Jadarian Price

As a result, Albert Breer called the rookie Price a "pivotal figure." We just reported Price has been a big factor so far in the offseason and was getting a lot of work in the passing game. Breer added there is competition at the position and the Seahawks staff is "looking harder at what each guy can do so they can get the guys in the right roles." Price has been a popular early target in dynasty rookie drafts, and figures to get some early attention in redraft leagues as well. Both backs should factor heavily in the offense but it's worth paying attention to what their roles will be.

Ladd McConkey said that he’s a “full go” for training camp.

Chargers camp will begin tomorrow with players arriving today. McConkey was dealing with a hamstring injury and while he was expected to be good to go, it's always nice to see the good news. McConkey added he thinks the current Chargers roster is the most talented he's been on, according to the post.

As he reported to his 22nd NFL training camp Tuesday morning, quarterback Aaron Rodgers affirmed that there's "zero doubt" 2026 is his last season playing football, even as at least one of his Pittsburgh teammates wondered aloud whether Rodgers might change his mind.

"I thought last year might be it," Rodgers said after the Pittsburgh Steelers' conditioning test, echoing the same sentiment he expressed in May that the 2026 season would be his last. "And then Mike [McCarthy] got hired, and I talked to the wife and she said, 'You can do one more year.' I said, 'Well, see if it works out.' And then it kind of all came together."

Well, here we go again. This will probably end up being weekly news for the next 12 months at this point. But, it's at least worth noting for fantasy owners who may want to plan ahead. For the record, teammate DK Metcalf isn't buying it just yet, according to the story, pretty much saying anything could happen over the next year.

De’Von Achane is clear full-go, says Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley.

Achane may be a tough choice for fantasy owners in drafts this season on what is now a depleted Miami offense. As our John Paulsen said, Achane has finished RB7 and RB5 the last two seasons, and the efficiency profile backs it up–his run grade and YAC/Att both rank at the 98th percentile. He's a legitimate difference-maker with the ball in his hands. The 2026 context is a tougher call, since there’s been a coaching and quarterback change in Miami. On a team that figures to be bad and trailing frequently, game script adds another layer of uncertainty. The talent is easy to trust. The situation isn't.

Mike McCarthy says they are going to move DK Metcalf around around the formation more this year.

Related players: Michael Pittman Jr., Germie Bernard

The post went on to say that McCarthy added he was already pretty impressed with the chemistry between Metcalf and Aardon Rodgers last year. McCarthy commented, "We need him going....DK can change games." We rank Metcalf 29th on our WR list and expect another WR2-ish finish, assuming he keeps his same role with the addition of Pittman and Bernard.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is reporting to training camp without a new deal in hand.

Sources told ESPN that Mayfield and his agent have not made significant progress with the Bucs on a new contract. A deal is largely not expected by the start of the Bucs' first camp practice on July 29, but there is still time to sort through it and potentially reach a deal, sources added.

As the story said, Mayfield has one year remaining on his contract, which will expire at the end of the 2026 regular season. Sources close to the situation have said that he would like a deal that reflects his performance and is more in line with what quarterbacks of a similar caliber are making, which includes leading the Bucs to two straight playoff appearances in 2023 and 2024.

Wide receiver George Pickens’ signature on the franchise tag on April 29 all but guaranteed he would attend the team’s mandatory minicamp and report to training camp.

Indeed, Pickens was at the minicamp on June 16-18, and on Monday, he was with the team as players reported to training camp in Oxnard, California.

As the story went on to say, Pickens will play the 2026 season on the one-year, fully guaranteed $27.3 million franchise tag. He will be the only player in the NFL to play on the franchise tag. Pickens caught 93 balls for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns and is looking to cash in on a huge contract.

The Packers have placed Kraft (ACL) on the active/PUP list Monday ahead of training camp, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.

Kraft stated earlier this month he expects to be ready for Week 1, and that's certainly still possible. The Packers are still hoping to get back Kraft on the practice field during the earlier stages of camp, so stay tuned for updates. Kraft is ranked fourth among our TEs this season, and proved to be a great middle round value a year ago. He'll likely go off the board sooner than that this season, however, and his current ADP is the fifth round.

The Colts placed linebacker CJ Allen and wide receiver Alec Pierce on the active/physically unable to perform list.

Players on the list can return as soon as they pass a physical before the Aug. 30 roster cut-down. As the story went on to say, Pierce continues rehab after left ankle surgery in March. The surgery was needed to fix a problem he’s had since 2024 after a platelet-rich plasma treatment in January didn’t work as hoped. Pierce was expected to need 4-6 months post-surgery, which will keep him sidelined into training camp. Pierce, who re-signed with the Colts on a four-year, $114 million deal, set career highs with 47 receptions and 1,003 yards last season. He also had six touchdowns.

49ers rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling is making a positive early impression on a very important teammate.

“Dude is a baller, and I mean that,” Purdy said on KNBR, via 49ersWebzone.com. “It’s hard to say that for a rookie, right off the jump, but just seeing him run routes, going up against defenders in OTAs and then in camp yesterday. He’s a great route runner. He’s smart. He’s learned the playbook really quick, which is awesome. And then, on top of that, you can see his strength, too. When he’s going up against guys and creating separation, I’m like, ‘Alright, this guy’s a strong receiver.’ And so, I’m excited to see what he does, but all of us, all the quarterbacks in the room, were like, ‘Alright, this guy’s going to be a guy that’s going to come in and play.’”

Related players: Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall, Christian Kirk, Demarcus Robinson

As the story points out, Stribling joined the 49ers with the top pick of the second round and the selection drew some negative reviews because of who else was available at that point in the draft. Purdy seems impressed with the rookie but Stribling will have some spots to climb on the depth chart. However, Evans is coming off a year where he had hamstring issues and Kirk is already dealing with a calf sprain. So there certainly seems to be a path toward playing time for Stribling.

"I'm feeling really good and I'm gonna be full go to start training camp. I'm ready to go," said Daniel Jones today on the Pat McAfee show.

Jones tore his Achilles in Week 14 but has battled back to be a full participant when camp starts. Jones threw for 19 TDs, over 3,000 yards and added five rushing touchdowns before the injury took him out for the rest of the season. Jones was a very pleasant surprise for fantasy owners last year and he'll look to continue his revived career in 2026 after signing a two-year deal in the offseason with the Colts.

Jordan James was clearly the RB2 behind Christian McCaffrey

Related players: Kaelon Black, Isaac Guerendo

Graham added James has the potential to carve out a nice role for himself this season. CMC was able to collect another big workload last season, but the star RB has, of course, had injury issues in the past, so knowing who his handcuff will be is a big deal as we head into fantasy drafts. There's a long way to go, and James will have to deal with Black and Guerendo. But, James has been getting attention for this role for a while now, and looks poised to be the RB2.

Jadarian Price getting drilled—a lot—in the passing game in these first days of Seahawks training camp.

Related players: Zach Charbonnet

The rookie RB and first round pick has been on the first, second and third team offenses in 11 on 11 and the coaches have been maximizing his reps, Bell went on to say. With the loss of Kenneth Walker, Price is looking poised to have a big role in the Seahawks offense this season, but will still likely lose snaps and touches to Charbonnet.

The Cardinals and quarterback Jacoby Brissett agreed to a reworked contract that will see Brissett receive a guaranteed $15.5 million in 2026.

Brissett will have a chance to make up to $21 million with incentives. He was set to make just under $5 million but was in search of more money as he is pretty much set as the Cardinals' starting quarterback, now that Kyler Murray is in Minnesota. Gardner Minshew and rookie Carson Beck are the other two quarterbacks on the roster.

Brissett threw for 3,366 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 14 games (12 starts) in 2025. He will now work with new head coach Mike LaFleur and an offense that includes tight end Trey McBride, wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson, and rookie running back Jeremiyah Love.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford will work on a modified training camp schedule, according to head coach Sean McVay.

Stafford is feeling good entering training camp, a vast difference from last season when a back injury caused him to miss most of camp. Of course, Stafford went on to have one of the best years of his career at 37 years old, winning the MVP award.

The plan, according to McVay, is for Stafford to not practice on the first and third days of the Rams' four-day practice block. This means Stafford will not practice Sunday, the first day of practice for the Rams. He will be "doing his own independent stuff where he's taking care of his body," McVay said.

Barshop reports the Rams will also handle other players in a similar way, including wide receiver Davante Adams.

49ers general John Lynch didn't fully say the team was done with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, but said the team is "going to focus on the players that are here."

"Brandon is on a left squad designation," Lynch said, via ESPN. "As such, he's not on our 90-man roster. And I'm personally and we as an organization are going to focus on the players that are here. And so, I don't have anything to say on that, anything to add to that. We wish him well. We wish his family well."

That sounds like the 49ers are moving on from Aiyuk. He is currently not counting against the 90-man roster for the 49ers because of his "left team" designation, which Aiyuk has had since December when he stopped showing up to the team's training facility. Aiyuk has not played since suffering ACL, MCL and meniscus injuries in his right knee in Week 7 of the 2024 season. San Francisco has held on to Aiyuk in the hopes a potential trade would come to fruition.

Aiyuk would have to apply for reinstatement to the NFL. He has commented on wanting to join the Washington Commanders, including reportedly purchasing a home near the Commanders' practice facility. For what it's worth, Washington visits San Francisco on October 19.

The Rams signed No. 13 overall pick Ty Simpson to a four-year, $25.4 million contract with a fifth-year option.

The deal includes a signing bonus of almost $15 million. Both first-round quarterbacks are now officially signed, following the Raiders signing No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza earlier this week. Simpson is competing with Stetson Bennett for the QB2 role behind Matthew Stafford. Neither quarterback has much of an edge over the other. Simpson will now get his chance to compete in camp, now that he is under contract.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan suffered numerous injuries during a July 14 car accident near his Northern California home and will coach on a limited basis during training camp.

Assistant head coach and offensive line coach Chris Foerster will handle some of the jess coaching duties for Shanahan. Shanahan was taken to a hospital and suffered a broken nose, three broken ribs, a broken hand and required 40 stitches in his face. No one was cited and drugs and alcohol are not believed to have been involved. 49ers veterans reported to camp Saturday and the first practice is Sunday.

Malik Nabers(knee) is not on the PUP list to start training camp. That's a good sign.

Related Players: Darius Slayton, Darnell Mooney, Malachi Fields, Calvin Austin III, Isaiah Hodgins

Great news, indeed. We still have quite a few hurdles until we can assume health to start the regular season, but this is the first bit of good news we've had regarding Nabers all offseason. Some trepidation is still warranted for current drafters (i.e., he's not a WR1 based on this news alone), but we can start to picture a world in which he's back to full health at some point in 2026.

Tyreek Hill says he still has "no power" in his recovering left leg, indicating the free agent wide receiver could still be a long way from returning to the NFL. Hill, 32, said that he was told he "might not be able to walk again" after the injury but that he now feels good 10 months removed from a pair of surgeries. He was doing a variety of exercises in the video, including some short running, which he said he wasn't supposed to be doing "but I like to challenge myself a little bit."

Not particularly good news for anyone who was tucking him away cheaply in best ball drafts through the summer. Hill is obviously a fade in any redraft leagues until we get some sort of news about an interested party, but there are some teams out there who could use an 80% Tyreek Hill, potentially later in the season.

Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett reported to training camp today along with the rest of his teammates, sources tell me and @RapSheet. Nothing new as of right now on his contract but Brissett is in the building.

Related Players: Carson Beck, Gardner Minshew

While it's easy to scoff at Brissett's attempts at a new contract, he does kinda have a leg to stand on, considering he's the presumptive starter but has a current AAV lower than Marcus Mariota, Davis Mills, and Kirk Cousins.

Regardless, this isn't a situation where we'd want to be grabbing Beck or Minshew outside of deep SuperFlex leagues if the contract dispute lasts into the regular season. Brissett will be an interesting streaming option throughout the year if they clean this up.

Seahawks placed RB Zach Charbonnet on the physically unable to perform list as he continues to make his way back from offseason knee surgery.

Related Players: Jadarian Price, Emanuel Wilson, George Holani

It's been expected that Charbonnet would be out until roughly October, so there's no reason to push him even further down draft boards. He could be a draft-then-IR stash, but with his return still up in the air, it's probably best to just keep him on waiver wires.

In the meantime, Jadarian Price, the Seahawks' first-round selection, figures to get a bulk of the workload with former Packer Emanuel Wilson spelling him. We currently have Price ranked as a mid-tier RB3, with Wilson as a fringe RB4/5, with the opportunity to log some starts if the rookie has any hiccups.

Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta was fully cleared for training camp earlier this month, a source told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on Tuesday.

LaPorta, 25, underwent a microdiscectomy last season to repair a fully herniated disc. He finished last season with 40 receptions for 489 yards and three touchdowns in nine games.

Related Players: Tyler Conklin, Brock Wright

Fantastic news for further depth after the top tier of TE1s. LaPorta has been the TE7 in terms of PPG in each of the last two seasons, and even though the emergence of Jameson Williams has capped his absolute ceiling, he's still a very viable mid-range TE1 heading into 2026.

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and his family were unharmed after an attempted burglary of their home Saturday morning, according to the Tredyffrin Township Police Department.

"They were home, and fortunately, as you know, with any situation like this, our main concern is that the residents of that home at the time were unharmed, which they were. They were fine afterwards, obviously unsettled as anyone would be,"

There were no injuries to any of the family members.

Alvin Kamara’s agent Brad Cicala tells me and @RapSheet
the new deal for his client, which @nick_underhill and @T_Armstead72 reported was imminent, has been agreed to. “Alvin’s goal, and the team’s goal, was for him to remain with the Saints and retire a Saint,” Cicala says.

Related Players: Travis Etienne, Devin Neal, Kendre Miller

This is actually pretty terrible fantasy news, particularly for tertiary pieces like Neal and Miller. Kamara doesn't project as a useful add on his own, but there is a good chance that he claims enough touches to pull away from Etienne's ceiling. The Saints look like an ascending offense, but Etienne should be treated as a low-end RB2 after this news.

The veteran quarterback has chosen to retire. The Panthers placed him on the reserve/retired list on Wednesday. The 31-year-old Will Grier was originally a third-round pick of the Panthers in 2019, and signed a one-year deal here before the draft. He has also spent time with the Cowboys, Bengals, Patriots, Chargers, Eagles, and the Cowboys again. He appeared in two regular-season games, both here during his rookie season.

Related Players: Bryce Young, Kenny Pickett

The Panthers will now hold Young, Kenny Pickett, and undrafted rookie Haynes King heading into training camp. Pickett is an interesting hold/waiver target in very deep SuperFlex Dynasty leagues.

"Skatt will be ready early on in camp and Malik will be working his way into practice as camp gets started one way or another," Harbaugh said. "There's a lot of optimism around both of those guys right now. I feel really good about their respective paths. I don't want to make any guarantees, but I think you'll see a lot of those guys this season. Skatt is further ahead based on the type of injury, but Malik is not far behind. He's in a good place right now."

Related Players: Tyrone Tracy, Devin Singletary, Darius Slayton, Calvin Austin III, Darnell Mooney, Malachi Fields

Harbaugh has been all over the place in reference to Malik Nabers' availability, but this is at least a good sign. Seeing him on the field at any point this pre-season would help to solidify his odds of starting the regular season healthy, but there's still a very real possibility that he starts the season on PUP. We would still be easily avoiding him at his third-round ADP as it stands.

As for Cam Skattebo, he should have a far cleaner path toward returning solid RB2 production with no further setbacks.