Team news: Washington Commanders | Page 25

It's feared that veteran wide receiver James Washington may have suffered a Jones fracture.

Related Players: Jalen Tolbert, Michael Gallup

Immediate reports are ranging from a Jones fracture to a right turf toe. Regardless, if Washington is forced to miss time to begin the year, it will open the door for rookie Jalen Tolbert to operate as the WR3 behind CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup, when the latter returns later this Fall.

While discussing Antonio Gibson's lingering hamstring injury, Washington beat reporter Ben Standig mentioned, "at a minimum, Robinson is expected to handle short-yardage work", which would give the rookie a floor as a goal-line back.

Related Players: Antonio Gibson, J.D. McKissic

Standig also mentions, "Washington plans to find ways to get Gibson the ball in space rather than force him inside.". That sounds fine on paper, but the Commanders made sure that they brought back J.D. McKissic to repeat his third-down role, creating a logjam in the backfield with no real upside for any of the three pieces.

Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup tore his ACL in January, so it’s no surprise that he isn’t ready to hit the practice field during the first week of training camp.

Gallup was placed on the physically unable to perform list Wednesday.

There’s no timetable for Gallup to get on the practice field, but he can be activated at any point during camp. If Gallup is not activated from the PUP list before the cut to 53 players, he will have to miss the opening weeks of the regular season before he can return to practice and/or be added to the active roster, the story went on to say.

Washington plans to find ways to get Antonio Gibson the ball in space rather than force him inside. Part of the logic involves limiting wear and tear. The presence of rookie Brian Robinson affords that shift.

The Commanders, having already retained pass catching specialist J.D. McKissic, selected the Alabama standout known for power and ball security in the third round. At a minimum, Robinson is expected to handle short-yardage work, duties given to Gibson last season following the release of Peyton Barber.

Rivera called Robinson "a big, strong, powerful downhill runner, more so than anything else.” The story said Robinson popped some solid runs while primarily holding down first-team duties Wednesday. He’ll receive ample work with the starters as long as this cautious approach with Gibson remains, it went on to say.

As he continues to seek a new contract, 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel is sitting out practice. But head coach Kyle Shanahan sounds confident things are going to get resolved.

Shanahan confirmed this morning that Samuel will not practice today, while adding that contract negotiations are ongoing.

Shanahan was quoted as saying Deebo and the team are in a good place despite him not practicing. As the story added, Samuel was one of the best receivers in the NFL last season while also contributing as a running back, but there were reports that Samuel wasn’t happy with the way he was being used in Shanahan’s offense. A new contract may make Samuel happy, but it’s not done yet.

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan had this to say about a potential contract with WR Deebo Samuel:

"What I do know is: I'm not worried about it not getting done," said Shanahan. "I feel very confident that Deebo's going to be on our team this year, and he's going to be for many years after. I do believe he'll get a deal. I know that they're working on it right now."

Samuel, who initially requested a trade that the team did not honor, has since reported to mandatory minicamp and is expected on the field for training camp, the story said.

After recording zero catches his rookie season in Dallas, WR Simi Fehoko has spent the offseason in Dallas. He has spent time with Dak Prescott and feels he offers something that the WR room may lack due to offseason moves and injuries. "Being the bigger, taller and I guess heavier receiver to be able to have that blend of speed I feel like adding that with learning from the route runner from [Noah Brown] or CeeDee, I feel like it's only just going to get better," Fehoko said. "I feel like that is something I bring to the table."

"I ended up staying here and I was able to work with Dak a little bit through the offseason," Fehoko said. "It's been smooth for me just being able to deal with them and be here the whole offseason."

Fehoko has a leg-up on rookies such as Jalen Tolbert by being in the Cowboys system for a season, but if he wants to be irreplaceable he has to top players with higher draft capital (Tolbert) and force out veterans such as James Washington. Fehoko could be an intriguing dynasty player if his time in Dallas bares fruit.

In Popper's post-draft look at the Chargers' depth chart, he notably listed rookie RB Isaiah Spiller ahead of incumbents Larry Rountree III and Joshua Kelley. "Finding a reliable backup behind Ekeler was a priority for general manager Tom Telesco and coach Brandon Staley this offseason, and they think they found that player in Spiller," wrote Popper.

Spiller has similar draft capital than Kelley (4th) and higher capital than Rountree (6th), and is arguably a better pass catcher than both heading into training camp. Spiller appears to be a dynasty player to target should Ekeler get hurt and has later-round value in redraft so long as he does not stumble out the gate.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told reporters when asked about WR Michael Gallup's ACL recovery that he could be a "question mark" Week 1, "and I see a conversation that says conservatively, you would like to have a couple more games to get him out there.”

It appears that Gallup's recovery is on par with expectations if he manages to get into games towards the end of the first month of the 2022 season. His WR2 role with the Cowboys is secure as long as he does not have a setback.

The Atlanta Falcons have signed QB Marcus Mariota to a two-year deal.

Related Player: Feleipe Franks

Shortly after trading Matt Ryan, the Falcons add Mariota. The former Raider and Titan rejoins Arthur Smith in Atlanta. The two worked together in Tennessee. As of today, Mariota has little competition at quarterback, but that could change once the NFL Draft starts.