Team news: Arizona Cardinals | Page 28

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor, who has been away from the team getting additional rehab on his ankle, is back today, source said.

Related players: Zack Moss, Evan Hull, Deon Jackson, Kenyan Drake

Taylor remains on PUP and his stance has not changed, and he wants a trade out of Indy. But, he has returned to the team, according to the rest of Rapoport's post. With Taylor out and Moss dealing with an arm injury, Hull and Jackson look to be later-round targets, at least for now.

Almost nine months after tearing his ACL and MCL, Cardinals TE Zach Ertz has been cleared for full football activity.

Related players: Trey McBride

Garafolo added Ertz is on track to play in Week 1, according to a source. The three-time Pro Bowler was on pace for 86 catches, 745 yards and 8 TDs before injuring his knee in Week 10, Garafolo went on to say. The Cards could ease Ertz back into play when the season starts, but this likely means McBride's stock is going to take a hit.

The Colts are signing RB Kenyan Drake, per his agency.

Related Players: Jonathan Taylor, Zack Moss, Evan Hull

With Taylor sidelined for what feels like an indefinite amount of time as it stands, Zack Moss is also out for 1-2 months with a broken forearm. Drake adds depth and probably impacts rookie Evan Hull's ability to see the field early in the year more than anything.

Browns RB Jerome Ford was listed as inactive for the Hall of Fame game, alongside starting running back Nick Chubb.

Related Players: Demetric Felton, John Kelly

This is a good look for Jerome Ford, who has been forecasted as the RB2 in Cleveland throughout the preseason. Chubb should be the head and shoulders workhorse back for the Browns this season, but Ford's current ADP has him going all the way back in the 20th round. In deep leagues, Ford is absolutely worth a look.

While the Colts RB situation is in flux, rookie QB Anthony Richardson took all the first-team reps yesterday.

Related Players: Gardner Minshew

After flipping first-team reps with the veteran QB Minshew, Richardson has been seeing more rotation as the "starting" QB. This is still no guarantee that the rookie starts in Week 1, but it's at least a good sign that they feel the need to get him comfortable in that role. With so many question marks around Indianapolis, Richardson still isn't a leading option in typical 1QB leagues.

As for the trade demand, Jim Irsay’s been adamant: It’s not happening. Not now and not before the deadline in October. The team owns every bit of leverage here and has the option of placing the franchise tag on Jonathan Taylor each of the next two offseasons — a last-ditch outcome that would surely not be either side’s preference.

As Chris Ballard said recently, “The market is what the market is.”

Related Players: Zack Moss, Deon Jackson, Evan Hull, Jake Funk

With Taylor sidelined for what feels like an indefinite amount of time as it stands, Zack Moss is also out for 1-2 months with a broken forearm. The relationship between Taylor and the team feels like it's bordering on abject disaster, but if the Colts franchise tag him and he sits out anyways, he will only be hurting his own bank account.

Through no fault of Taylor's, the team doesn't want to pay a running back while not in "win-now" mode, but they also don't want to trade him for assets. JT's first-round capital should be faded in fantasy drafts, even if we get confirmation that he is staying in Indianapolis.

After a conversation in his owner's bus, Jonathan Taylor is looking to motor out of Indy. The All-Pro running back requested a trade following a meeting with Jim Irsay on the team bus during Saturday's training camp session, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. Taylor, who is currently on the physically unable to perform list, wants a contract extension that puts him in line with the league's highest-paid running backs, but the Colts have not yet made a contract offer, according to Rapoport.

Related Players: Zack Moss, Evan Hull

"We're not trading Jonathan ... end of discussion," Jim Irsay texted Albert Breer. "Not now and not in October!"

It doesn't seem like a trade would pick up steam without another team absolutely overpaying for the services of the running back. Taylor is set up as a top-10 fantasy RB but his upside might be capped in an offense that may not be great.

Per beat writer Boyd, "Richardson has a lot of growing to do, and while Gardner Minshew was brought in to help mentor him, it’s not like Minshew is going to lie down and give the rookie the starting job. Richardson must show strides with his grasp of the playbook, throwing mechanics and leadership to garner more first-team reps throughout the summer. My belief is that Richardson won’t be a better quarterback than Minshew, a five-year vet, by Week 1. "

Boyd would go on to say that Anthony Richardson does have an out, and that would include receiving more first-team reps than Minshew until the Colts "finally pull the trigger and name him the starter." This doesn't mean that Richardson won't see action as a rookie, just that it doesn't seem likely that he gets the entire 2023 season to himself.

The Patriots & WR DeVante Parker reached an agreement on a 3-year new contract worth up to $33M.

Related Players: JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kendrick Bourne

This number seems astronomical. Parker barely cleared 30 receptions in 13 games played last season and this receiver group doesn't look much different than 2022. Regardless of this incentive-laden contract, he is still a WR5/6 in fantasy terms.

The rookie third-rounder has impressed his coaches and teammates with his route running and talent. Wilson benefited from DeAndre Hopkins not taking part in any of the voluntary workouts before he was released and Marquise Brown not being involved much this offseason, either. That led to him getting a significant number of reps, which has helped him climb the depth chart to a point where he could be a factor in Arizona's offense from Day 1 of the season.

Related Players: Rondale Moore, Greg Dortch, Zach Pascal

With Rondale Moore operating as a gadget player from a past regime, and Marquise Brown apparently still working his way back to health, there is a very real chance that Dortch or Wilson could lead the team in targets over the 2023 season.

That may end up being nothing more than a technicality, and not that exciting for a Cardinals team that projects to be pretty awful this year. We currently only have a single option ranked in the top-45 wide receivers (Brown - WR27)