NBC Houston’s Aaron Wilson noted earlier today that Noel was not participating in practice due to a finger injury, which he suffered in July, and a recent hamstring injury. It turns out Noel’s recent hamstring injury is actually a re-injury. This is unfortunate. Fellow second-year WR Jayden Higgins has the inside track to the WR2 role. Noel was set to compete with Xavier Hutchinson and WR Tank Dell for the WR3 gig. Instead, he is losing valuable preseason reps. Noel might be best viewed as an early-season waiver wire add.
Recent reporting from ESPN suggests the Steelers will employ a run-heavy approach this season. Vacchiano agrees and adds that Steelers coach Mike McCarthy believes Dowdle could help the team produce a strong running game this season. That said, Vacchiano also said that Dowdle and RB Jaylen Warren could form “a potent tandem,” so Vacchiano may only be indicating that Dowdle will be the team’s primary rusher while Warren changes the pace and plays on passing downs. Both players sit in the fringe RB2/FLEX barrel right now.
Brown, 30, dealt with knee, groin and rib injuries last season. He profiles as a rotational player at this point in his career, but the Raiders’ wide receiver depth chart is fairly thin. He is unlikely to be fantasy-relevant, though he can help out at the team level. The Raiders correspondingly released DT Benito Jones.
According to Schefter, initial tests indicate Monangai’s knee is structurally sound. He is scheduled to undergo an MRI to confirm the results, but it sounds like Monangai avoided suffering a consequential injury. This is great news for the second-year back, who warrants standalone FLEX treatment if his knee checks out. Starting RB D’Andre Swift can easily shoulder a few extra touches if Monangai needs to be eased into action next month.
According to the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs, Monangai “got tangled up” with DT Grady Jarrett when the injury occurred. The second-year running back was able to walk off the field and into the locker room under his own power. The fact that the cart was not needed might be a good sign, but unfortunately, we are simply in wait-and-see mode for the time being. Bears RBs Roschon Johnson and Brittain Brown sit on the depth chart behind him. Starting RB D’Andre Swift could absorb a big chunk of Monangai’s workload if he misses time.
The 49ers do not have to disclose any details here, so we just have to wait until McCaffrey either tells us himself or retakes the practice field. The veteran running back has plenty of time to get right for Week 1. We are not overly concerned. He remains a high-end RB1 for the 2026 season, but we will provide an update whenever we get one.
Trapilo even resumed practicing today. This is quite an accomplishment. Trapilo suffered a season-ending patellar tendon rupture in the Bears’ Wild Card Round win over the Packers last year. He was expected to be sidelined “deep into next year,’ per general manager Ryan Poles, but Trapilo’s recovery has apparently gone very well. Trapilo proved himself as a capable pass protector and run blocker. He may need a while to ramp up, but the Bears are currently hosting a competition for the left tackle job. Veteran OT Braxton Jones has been sidelined with an undisclosed injury, but coach Ben Johnson recently said he could resume practicing this week. He got in one limited session last week.
The language regarding Love’s ankle injury continues to evolve. The team initially said the No. 3 overall pick could have re-entered Thursday’s preseason game if necessary. Coach Mike LaFleur later said Love would need at least a week off. On the plus side, Fowler referred to Love as the team’s “soon-to-be lead back,” furthering the notion that some of the training camp rotation hubbub was perhaps inaccurate. Love has time to recover and play productively this season. His recovery is simply worth tracking right now.
Kraft is recovering from a season-ending ACL tear. He is on track to play in Week 1. Easing him into action before “sending [him] to the wolves” partway through the year, as Kraft says, makes sense. Kraft proved himself to be a top-tier real-life tight end and a locked-in TE1 in fantasy last year. He can still return TE1 numbers while playing on a snap count, likely receiving a few first-read passes that are designed with his post-catch skill set in mind. These comments should not impact his ADP negatively. For what it’s worth, Kraft also said that he is hoping to play his normal allotment of snaps in Week 1. The team may simply choose to take a conservative approach.
Kittle is “very confident” he will be activated from the active/PUP list before Week 1, meaning he should resume playing sometime in Weeks 1-4. The veteran tight end has not yet resumed practicing, but “hinted he’d be back at practice shortly but declined to give a timeline,” per The Athletic’s Matt Barrows. Kittle said that he is running “a lot” and hitting top speeds while doing so. The 49ers are scheduled to fly out for the Week 1 game in Melbourne, Australia roughly one week before the game. Kittle said that the next couple of weeks will determine whether he joins his teammates on that flight. From the way Kittle is discussing his recovery, it almost sounds like he expects to play in Week 2 at the latest, though that is purely an interpretive conclusion. Whether Kittle returns to form as a post-catch dominator remains to be seen, but the 32-year-old remains a top-12 player at his position at this time.
Noel has been dealing with the pinky finger issue since late July, but the hamstring is a recent injury. The second-year wide receiver would ideally be competing for the WR3 role right now, and losing reps could slow him down. He is a risky dart throw, but he flashed talent at times in his rookie season.
NBC Houston’s Aaron Wilson listed the Texans players who were not practicing on Sunday. Dell was the only player who was not listed with an injury designation, so it seems likely that this is just a rest day. The Texans are easing Dell, 26, back into action following a lengthy absence stemming from a multi-ligament knee injury suffered in 2024. Dell’s range of potential outcomes remains wide. He may be best suited to a complementary, rotational role.
Richardson is a 2026 undrafted free agent. The Titans also signed TE Matt Lauter. They correspondingly placed DE Jaylen Harrell and TE Jaren Kanak on injured reserve.
Both Fowler and his colleague, Herm Edwards, complimented QB Deshaun Watson’s recent performances in both practice and preseason play. Per Fowler, Watson “has some momentum, not all of the momentum” at this time. His competitor, QB Shedeur Sanders, will start against the Bills this weekend.
The Dolphins signed QB Mark Gronowski after Ewers picked up the injury. Ewers is the Dolphins’ primary backup, so the team was a little short-staffed for the remaining preseason games. Dolphins backup OT Jamaree Salyer reportedly suffered a season-ending injury.
McNichols probably is no higher than fourth on the depth chart in Washington behind ‘Bill,’ Rachaad White, and Kaytron Allen. Missing time due to injury doesn’t bode well for him making the initial 53-man roster.
Washington has been Lawrence’s “favorite target, and he always seems to be open” DiRocco notes. The Jaguars main pass catchers are pretty close in ADP, with Washington leading the way at WR31 and Brian Thomas Jr. at WR33. This would seem to be an argument to trust Washington as a true WR2/WR3 option — and everything we’ve gotten on Washington this offseason from beat writers has been overwhelmingly positive.
Severity is unknown at this point and the injury didn’t happen at the practice, so we’ll await further team comment before getting too worried. The Packers definitely can’t afford to have Van Ness down with Micah Parsons already on pace to miss the first month of the season.
Benson has been inundated with buzz this offseason. He caught two balls for 26 yards on four targets in Las Vegas’ first preseason game and reportedly has a strong connection with Fernando Mendoza. Outside of Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty it’s been hard to recommend any Raiders skill position player in fantasy circles this year; perhaps the sixth-round pick can step into a real target role given the lack of competition around him.
With Malik Nabers still off the field, that’s a given. Still, Likely finds himself as barely a top-12 tight end by ADP. The argument could be made that he belongs closer to the top 10. “Given the way [Jaxson] Dart likes to throw to his tight ends, it suggests that Likely is in for a breakout season given the chemistry they already have developed,” Raanan concludes.
Frankly, a pretty good update considering how quickly Mariota exited the field on Friday. The Commanders will likely pick up another quarterback to help navigate the final two weeks of the preseason. Mariota will be the backup for the season opener if healthy.
It certainly can’t hurt his case for head coaching work should the Bears offense continue to play well above the league average. Randle El’s offensive playcalling produced 235 yards and 24 points in the second half.
It “should be a few more weeks,” for McGovern, whose goal is to be ready for the start of the season. Lloyd Cushenberry would take over at center if McGovern can’t be ready for Week 1 against the Texans.
Klubnik played two series with the starters in the first preseason game before giving way to Bailey Zappe and Brady Cook, going 5-of-7 for 56 yards. “He has some moxie to him,” Jets coach Aaron Glenn said. “He’s very confident, he’s confident in his arm, confident in his ability to elude and make plays with his feet. His ability to be able to come out and operate with the first group the way he did, I thought, was outstanding.” Given how Jets quarterbacking has gone over the past few years and Geno Smith’s age, Klubnik will likely find himself in a starting lineup at some point this season if he can stay healthy.
We blurbed about Cooper playing deep into the preseason game on Friday — never a great sign — and this backs that up. Williams, an outstanding return man in his rookie season, enters the deep sleeper conversation at wideout.