Belichick: Patriots WR Josh Gordon's role expanding

Sources: #Saints star WR Michael Thomas is expected to miss the start of the 2021 season after undergoing surgery to repair the ligaments in his ankle in June. Based on the timing of the surgery – and recommended 4 months of recovery – Thomas could be on the sideline for weeks.

It’s a brutal blow for Thomas and his owners. Projections currently assume eight missed games for Thomas, but we’ll update as more information comes in. Alvin Kamara has seen a big boost in usage when Thomas has missed in recent years. He has averaged 27.3 PPG (half-PPR) in the eight games that Thomas has missed compared to 15.5 PPG in the 21 games Thomas played. The loss of Drew Brees is a concern, but Kamara should be the focal point of the offense with Thomas sidelined. For now, Tre’Quan Smith, Adam Trautman and the other New Orleans receivers get a bump, but the Saints are a candidate to sign or trade for another receiver.

Rookies Josh Bledsoe, Rhamondre Stevenson and Cam McGrone were all placed on the non-football injury list by the Patriots today. They can come off NFI and begin practicing at any time.

This is something to keep an eye on as training camp continues, and could help Sony Michel's chances of making the 53-man roster in 2021. For now, Rhamondre Stevenson is 4for4's RB88, with expected lead back Damien Harris RB33.

#Rams RB Cam Akers suffered a torn Achilles while training, per source.

Brutal blow for L.A., which loses its leading rusher from last season a week before camp begins.

With Cam Akers out, the next man up is Darrell Henderson. Henderson served as the Rams’ lead back from Week 2 to Week 7, racking up 86 total yards (4.84 YPC) and 0.67 touchdowns on 15.5 touches per game. Those are low-end RB1 numbers, which is the sort of production that we can expect from Henderson now that he finds himself in the lead role once again. With Malcolm Brown moving on to Miami, the Rams' depth chart behind Henderson now consists of 2020 7th-rounder Raymond Calais, 2021 7th-rounder Jake Funk, undrafted second-year player Xavier Jones and undrafted rookie Otis Anderson. The Rams' RB2 role will be a camp battle to monitor. The team is now a candidate to bring another veteran in (Todd Gurley?).