Though the Vikings staged what appeared to be a (short-lived) quarterback competition between Murray and JJ McCarthy, the result was likely determined from the outset. Murray and McCarthy split first-team reps for much of the offseason and into training camp, with both QBs struggling at times. There was no way the Vikings were going to pay the steep price of acquiring Murray from the Cardinals only to sit him behind McCarthy. Murray as starter is probably good news for Justin Jefferson, who last season had one of the NFL’s lowest catchable target rates. Murray should be fine as a floor-based fantasy play in Kevin O’Connell’s offense. McCarthy should still be rostered in superflex formats behind the oft-injured Murray.
Ballard said he’s confident Pierce will be ready for Week 1. Colts beat writers reported the injection on Monday. Ballard came out Tuesday and denied the procedure — part of Pierce’s rehab from offseason ankle surgery he underwent right after signing a massive contract extension with the Colts. Pierce, who operated strictly as a downfield option in 2025, is expected to have a more varied route tree when he’s fully recovered from his ankle issue. If Pierce is sidelined, Josh Downs will likely serve as the team’s No. 1 wideout to start the season.
It’s an unofficial depth chart and should be taken with some skepticism. Mike Evans and Demarcus Robinson are listed as starting wideouts alongside Samuel, who signed with the Niners last week after spending 2025 in Washington. Familiar with Kyle Shanahan’s offense after playing in San Francisco for the first six years of his NFL career, Samuel could see a surprising amount of playing time with Christian Kirk banged up and Ricky Pearsall out for the season with a knee injury. De’Zaun Stribling is listed as a WR2 on the unofficial depth chart for now. His performance in training camp and Niners coaches’ comments about the rookie suggest he’ll get plenty of run alongside Evans and Samuel in 2026.
Flowers missed a couple of days of training camp practices with what was described as a quad bruise following a frightening collision with a Baltimore defender. Flowers was helped off the field by trainers and appears to be fine a few weeks ahead of the Ravens’ regular season opener. Flowers this month signed a four-year contract extension worth up to $140 million, and is set to once again be Baltimore’s top pass-catching option in 2026. Last year Flowers had his most efficient season as a pro, ranking eighth in fantasy points per route run, ahead of Ja’Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb, and A.J. Brown, among others.
This move comes just hours after it was announced that the Patriots would be waiving the 2024 third-rounder. Now, Wallace will get a chance to restart his career with the Dolphins after a disappointing two-year stint in New England, where he appeared in just 10 games. In addition to Wallace, the Dolphins also received a 2029 seventh-round pick in the swap.
This is just further confirmation that none of the Seattle backs are primed to see big workloads in 2026 unless the backfield struggles with injuries. Macdonald said he’s been impressed by rookie RB Jadarian Price, who he compared favorably to Dalvin Cook. With Zach Charbonnet recovering from his 2025 knee injury, Fowlers said George Holani and Emanuel Wilson would be backfield factors early in the season. Fowlers added that Price’s “profile should only grow as we approach September.” For now Price is sidelined with a leg injury.
Fowlers said the team expects Barner to be more involved as a pass catcher in 2026 after recording 52 receptions for 519 yards and six touchdowns last season (while being targeted on 19 percent of his routes). Barner, following multiple offseason surgeries to clean up nagging injuries, is fully healthy and ready for a more prominent role in Seattle’s offense. New Seahawks offensive coordinator Brian Fleury, meanwhile, is expected to use plenty of two tight end sets in 2026, meaning TE Elijah Arroyo could see an increase in snaps and routes. Barner has a little bit of extra hidden upside as the Seahawks’ primary tush push option near the goal line.
Raanan said Dart slid feet first at the tail end of a third down run during a recent training camp practice — his first slide in 11 camp practices. His teammates approved. “We’ve been begging him to do that for a while,” Giants outside linebacker Brian Burns said. “So, I’m glad that he’s starting to practice it.” Giants head coach John Harbaugh said he “clapped” and “applauded” upon seeing Dart slide instead of initiate contact with an oncoming defender, as he often did during his 2025 rookie season, resulting in a series of head injuries. One of the first topics new quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan discussed with Dart in the spring was the importance of avoiding big hits when he leaves the pocket, according to Raanan. Dart has said, per Raanan, that he “would still try to run over defenders” near the end zone. If Dart takes the advice seriously, he should have a healthier second NFL season.
Pierce remains well behind schedule following offseason surgery on his ankle, with it now coming to light that the veteran receiver required a second PRP injection in his left ankle. Now well beyond the original recovery window following the late-March surgery, Pierce appears to be in legitimate danger of missing time when games start to count if the platelet-rich plasma injections do not speed up his recovery for the second time. Pierce signed a four-year, $114 million contract extension with the Colts this offseason after the team lost Michael Pittman in a trade to the Steelers, signifying an intent to move forward with Pierce as their primary option at the position. That move could prove costly if Pierce misses regular season time. Josh Downs and Tyler Warren would be in line to benefit the most from any absence from Pierce.
The details of the contract were not made readily available, although the signing appears to be a depth move at the position after the team signed both Brian Robinson and Tyler Goodson this offseason. The depth behind starter Bijan Robinson remains a work in progress for the Falcons, meaning Sermon could carve out a spot on the 53-man roster during the remainder of camp and the preseason.
Speaking to reporters Monday, Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel said that all three of Omarion Hampton, Keaton Mitchell, and Kimani Vidal in the backfield this season. “Good news is I see all three of those guys performing at a very high level,” McDaniel said. “Kinda play hot hand once you’re into games.” While that’s not the best news for fantasy managers that invested second round picks into Hampton, the opportunity for the Chargers to turn heads on the scoreboard could result in a case of “a rising tide raises all ships.” McDaniel famously, and recently, made two backs top-six producers in fantasy points per game in the same season, with both Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane finishing 2023 in that range. Whether a similar situation transpires in Los Angeles remains to be seen.
The good news for Wilson is that it sounds like the Cardinals are hoping to sign him to an extension. The bad news is that when asked if he expects an extension to get done, Ossenfort responded, “Expect? That’s a tough word.” Wilson broke out for 78 receptions for 1,006 yards and seven touchdowns last season with the Cardinals, with much of his production coming after Jacoby Brissett took over. The fourth-year receiver has received glowing reports throughout camp and could emerge as the team’s WR1 this season. It seems unlikely the Cardinals will extend Wilson as he enters the fourth and final year of his rookie deal.
It’s the kind of thing fantasy managers hate to hear. When speaking about his running backs on Monday, McDaniel said, “I see all three producing at a very high level,” while saying the workload for each back could depend on the opponent and who has the “hot hand.” While it’s certainly concerning on the surface, we feel pretty confident in Omarion Hampton having the safest role as far as fantasy is concerned, while Keaton Mitchell and Kimani Vidal could prove a bit more volatile. Their volatility has been baked into their ADP all offseason, as Mitchell is often going in the 12th or 13th round of drafts while Vidal often goes undrafted. It may take some time to get a good sense of McDaniel’s plans for the backfield, but we would expect a clear-cut RB1 and RB2 to emerge this season.
This move comes just hours after it was announced that the Patriots would be waiving the 2024 third-rounder. Now, Wallace will get a chance to restart his career with the Dolphins after a disappointing two-year stint in New England, where he appeared in just 10 games. In addition to Wallace, the Dolphins also received a 2029 seventh-round pick in the swap.
Did you really think the Cowboys wouldn’t sign a star defensive player to a contract extension? Williams appeared in 15 games last season, including seven for the Cowboys after the team acquired him last November. In his limited action with the Cowboys, Williams totaled 21 tackles, three TFLs and 1.5 sacks, and earned his fourth-straight trip to the Pro Bowl. He’s one of the league’s premier run-stoppers and is now under contract through the 2030 season. Williams’ deal is the third-largest for a defensive lineman in NFL history and includes $101 million in total guaranteed money.
One of the bigger storylines out of Commanders camp this offseason has been the switch to a scheme that is expected to put Daniels under center far more often than he did in his first two seasons with Kliff Kingsbury. Daniels has played 94 percent of his snaps from shotgun since 2024, per TruMedia, which is similar to how he also played in college. According to Jhabvala, Daniels has adjusted well to playing more from under center, saying, “the footwork that so often seems to trip up young quarterbacks doesn’t seem to be an issue at all for (Daniels),” while adding that his timing with his pass-catchers has been “really sharp.” Daniels struggled in his second season as a pro. While a multitude of injuries certainly played a role, he struggled at times with his accuracy last season and was more prone to take off and run than he was as a rookie. With several new additions on offense, Daniels could be in line for a big fantasy season and profiles as a high-end QB1.
Interestingly, Week 6 is when the Packers play host to the Cowboys, Parsons’ former team. The star pass-rusher did note that he could also return later and that there is always the possibility of setbacks, but it sounds like the earliest we should expect to see him is Week 6. Parsons opened camp on the PUP list, which didn’t come as a surprise given the timing of his injury last season. It’s been widely believed that Parsons would miss the first few games of the season. If he were to open the year on the PUP list, he would be forced to sit out at least the first four games of the year.
We’re still looking for more clarity here, but Payton did say after practice that he thinks Dobbins is “gonna be fine” and that the team is “trying to be smart with it.” Given Dobbins’ injury history, it makes sense for the team to want to approach any minor issues with caution as they look to get through training camp and into Week 1. Dobbins rushed for 153-772-4 in 10 games with the Broncos last season and signed a two-year, $20 million contract this offseason. He’s expected to serve as their primary lead back, while RJ Harvey will continue to see a role in the passing game. If Dobbins were to miss time, rookie Jonah Coleman could be tasked with stepping in to fill his role.
It’s been an impressive few weeks of camp for Boston, who has flashed on several occasions since things got underway. The rookie second-rounder has made enough of an impression to begin working with the first-team offense ahead of the team’s first preseason game, which suggests he is well on his way to solidifying an early role in the offense. While the Browns’ quarterback situation leaves much to be desired, Boston could end up having a solid fantasy floor in his rookie season under Monken. Both he and fellow rookie KC Concepcion are intriguing later-round picks in redraft leagues this season.
After missing the early part of training camp, Tua Tagovailoa has been back practicing with the team and reportedly turned in a solid session on Sunday, which was cut short by lightning. Michael Penix, who is still waiting to be fully cleared to return from the torn ACL that ended his 2025 campaign. The third-year signal-caller has been practicing in a limited capacity and said in late July that it might be “another four weeks” before he moves on to the next stage in his recovery. Regardless of what Stefanski says about naming his Week 1 QB, until Penix is officially cleared for full football activities, Tagovailoa feels like a safe bet to open the year as the starter.
We don’t have any details on this yet, but any time Dobbins is seen leaving with trainers, there’s cause for concern. The 27-year-old back has battled back from multiple injuries during his seven-year career and was on his way to the best season of his career in 2025 before a foot injury sidelined him after Week 10. We will check back in when we learn more, but if Dobbins were to miss any time, rookie Jonah Coleman’s fantasy stock would see an immediate boost.
Waddle has been working through a muscle strain, per head coach Sean Payton, since last week. It was reported on Thursday that he would return within 4-5 days, so we’re nearing the point where we would expect to see him on the field. He was seen working off to the side during Saturday’s practice, so hopefully another day or two of rest will be enough for him to return. Waddle is expected to be the top pass-catcher for the Broncos this season and was having a nice camp before going down.
This news comes from NBC Houston’s Aaron Wilson. Dell’s participation on Monday is a notable step in his recovery as the fourth-year receiver continues to work his way back from a devastating knee injury that ended his 2024 season and sidelined him for all of 2025. Head coach DeMeco Ryans said last week that the team is planning to take its time bringing Dell back, but it appears he is making good progress with a few weeks still left in camp. Whether or not Dell will be ready for Week 1 remains up in the air, but he’s clearly trending in the right direction.