It’s unclear whether this is a report from inside the building or Dulac speculating, but regardless, it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that the Steelers are growing tired of waiting for the 42-year-old quarterback to make his decision. The Steelers recently applied the rarely used unrestricted free-agent tender to Rodgers, giving them the right of first refusal and a chance to match any offer Rodgers may receive from another team. The Steelers have quarterbacks Mason Rudolph and Will Howard on the roster and also used the No. 76 overall pick in this year’s draft to select Penn State’s Drew Allar. Head coach Mike McCarthy will have multiple options at his disposal if Rodgers doesn’t return, but he remains their best option if he opts to continue playing.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero was first to report the signing. Taylor, 36, has spent the last two seasons with the Jets and made four starts for them in 2025, throwing for 779-5-5 while completing 59.7 percent of his passes. The veteran signal-caller will serve as the new backup to Jordan Love after Malik Willis left for Miami earlier this offseason. Taylor hasn’t had many opportunities for success over the last four seasons while splitting time between the Giants and Jets, but with 15 years of NFL experience and 100 career games under his belt he should be a serviceable backup for the Packers if called upon for a spot start or two.
Richardson stayed away during the previous two weeks, but showed up on Monday to join the team. The former No. 4 overall pick, who recently had his fifth-year option declined, is hoping to be traded or released before the start of next season, but he doesn’t appear to be on the move at this time. With second-year QB Riley Leonard expected to see most of the first-team reps while Daniel Jones continues to recover from his Achilles injury, Richardson will likely handle backup duties during drills if he continues to report. Richardson is in the final year of his rookie deal and appeared in only two games last season, completing 1-of-2 passes for nine yards.
Haener signed a deal with the Chiefs back in February and is now in search of a new home. The 27-year-old signal caller became expendable with the addition of Garrett Nussmeier, and was one of three players waived to make room for recent signings on the 90-man roster. Haener was a fourth-round pick by the Saints back in 2023 and has appeared in eight games in his career, throwing for 226 yards, one touchdown, and one interception while completing 46.2 percent of his passes. In addition to Haener, DE Ethan Hurkett and DT Zacch Pickens were also let go by the Chiefs.
Hopkins, 33, spent last season playing for Burrow’s AFC North rival Ravens. He posted a 22/330/2 receiving line. Hopkins is no longer an elite wide receiver, but he could be helpful for Burrow in fantasy, potentially operating as the team’s WR4. Unfortunately, Over The Cap lists the Bengals with the fourth-lowest salary cap space. Perhaps Hopkins will be willing to take a low-cost deal to play with Burrow.
Lane stands 6'4/200 with 10.5" hands and an 80.75" wingspan. It’s a unique build in the Ravens’ wide receiver corps. Lane is reportedly slated for a perimeter-bound role and will have a chance to establish himself as the team’s second receiver in two-wide receiver sets alongside No. 1 WR Zay Flowers. For Lane to become FLEX-viable in year one, he will have to contend with Ravens TE Mark Andrews and the unit’s newly reinforced depth. That is a tall order for a third-round pick. With fourth-round rookie WR Elijah Sarratt expected to man the slot, Lane may run few fast-developing routes in the open field, making him a potentially volatile producer even in the best-case scenario.
Both players are a long way off from being fantasy-relevant, but this is good news nonetheless. Trigg’s college tape is dotted with explosive plays and surprising drops. Watkins complimented his improving maturity and aptly noted that Trigg has more “potential” than Rogers, who set a goal of leading the team in special teams tackles. For now, Trigg is buried on the Cowboys’ depth chart. He is highly unlikely to be viable in re-draft this season, but remains an interesting dart throw in dynasty formats. He must continue winning over Cowboys coaches this summer and an underwhelming pre-draft showing.
This role comes with positives and negatives. Lining up in the slot gives the receiver a chance to run routes against linebackers and safeties. It can also mean he is forced to leave the field when the offense switches to two-wide receiver sets — a role that fellow rookie, boundary WR Ja’Kobi Lane, will likely get the first crack at. Sarratt logged 2,435 snaps lined up on the perimeter and 396 lined up in the slot in college, but he was very efficient on a per-route basis in the latter role. Sarratt’s training camp progress is worth following closely. The slot role will give him the chance to earn PPR-friendly lay-up targets, but he may need to command at least a mild-to-moderate perimeter snap share to become a matchup-based FLEX starter.
Cabot later writes that “the Browns really need Jeudy to return to his Pro Bowl form, and are confident he will.” We think her initial, hopeful framing is closer to the truth. Last week, Browns general manager Andrew Berry said rookie WRs KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston’s presence has “zero impact” on Jeudy. There’s an awful lot of reassurance going on here. Jeudy posted a 92/1,229/4 receiving line in 2024 before cratering to a 50/602/2 receiving line in 2025. Jeudy is under contract through 2027, but the dead money and salary cap savings are nearly even if designated as a post-June 1 cut next year. Given the Browns’ pass-catching investments over the last two drafts, and Jeudy’s poor 2025 showing, he looks like a dicey pick in fantasy for 2026.
According to ESPN’s Ryan McFadden, Mendoza took just five snaps under center over the course of his three-year college career. He took 2,073 snaps in shotgun formation. Mendonz said he is focused on footwork, particularly the first two steps, “securing the snap and getting out of there,” right now. He’s also been conducting walk-throughs at the team hotel with his fellow rookies over the past two nights, taking 25-50 snaps under center with each offensive lineman. Raiders veteran QB Kirk Cousins spent three seasons with head coach Klint Kubiak, as members of the Vikings, so Cousins, 37, will have an obvious edge in organized team activities later this month. That said, given Mendoza’s smarts and work ethic, we expect him to make playing style adjustments very quickly. No. 1 overall picks don’t stay in the backup role for long.
In his “bold predictions” piece, Shipley said he also believes Boerkircher will play on 45.0 percent of the team’s offensive snaps, catch 16 passes, produce 200 yards and score three times. In other words, he is very unlikely to be fantasy-relevant. That said, Shipley’s most notable point is that Boerkircher “has in-line blocking value as well as the ability to be detached from the line of scrimmage” and can block well on the outside, which is a plus for the Jaguars’ run game. The team has consistently harped on improving the run game this offseason. If Boerkircher can quickly establish himself as the Jaguars’ TE2, the impact could trickle down to RBs Chris Rodriguez and Bhayshul Tuten.
It’s hard to know exactly what to make of Thompson as a fourth-round pick and a track burner (4.26 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine) — two things that have a high bust rate — in dynasty circles. What we do know is that the general manager dropped these two comparisons on Thompson, that OC Mike McDaniel “told Hortiz he would take his shirt off if the team found a way to land Thompson,” and that Tre’ Harris and Derius Davis haven’t exactly established themselves as NFL stars yet. It’s certainly plausible that Thompson is fantasy-interesting in his rookie year.
“It benefits anyone in any position to be able to sit back,” LaFleur is quoted as saying by ESPN. “Sometimes, guys don’t have the choice because you have to put your best 22 out on the field there.” Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew currently occupy the two spots ahead of Beck on the depth chart. It doesn’t seem like there’s any reason to believe that the Cardinals are pushing Beck to play this year, which is exactly the return you want from your high third-round pick.
Wagoner lists Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall, and Christian Kirk as the current top of the depth chart for the 49ers. We wouldn’t be shocked if Stribling made a move on Kirk at some point in the 2026 season, and none of the three wideouts are exactly known for their durability at this point in their careers. Stribling belongs in the WR5 conversation even if the season is likely to start out slow for him.
Jahdae Walker could position himself as the No. 3 with a second-year jump, and third-round pick Zavion Thomas is also in the mix. This room will probably split the snaps enough to make them unappealing from a fantasy perspective, but it’s possible someone emerges as a WR4-type.
The path of least resistance is that Legette cleans up “some of the things that have slowed his development” and makes the wideout rotation. But, Person posits, if he isn’t in the rotation, it would make him a possible trade candidate. Two years into his career, the Panthers have drafted a wideout in Day 1 or 2 after both seasons and have happily given Jalen Coker work over Legette. He’s not a fantasy factor at the moment.
Same. After Kaelon Black was added in the third round, it seems like he’ll be the real competitor for Jordan James in the backup spot. Guerendo didn’t exactly play poorly when given a chance, but the 49ers simply have to draft a running back every year per unspoken NFL guidelines. If Guerendo is released, he could be an interesting reclamation project elsewhere.
Fields, a big-bodied blocker, probably has a real chance to play big snaps in his first season after the Giants traded up to get him in the third round. Giants coach John Harbaugh praised his speed (despite a 4.61 second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine) by saying “when you do the miles per hour, which we get the (GPS) tracking now, that’s fast. He tracks a lot faster ... he’s the equivalent of a mid-4.4 type 40 time. He’s running over 21 miles an hour consistently in games. He’s also got the ability to stop, drop his weight, change direction, get out of breaks. You see all that.” Fields isn’t really on the fantasy radar right now, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he became a hot waiver wire name at some point in his rookie season.
No surprise as Forbes was waived before completing his rookie contract. Forbes was a limited — if decent — find for the Rams last year. He’ll play a depth role in 2026 after the offseason additions of Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson.
He’s projected to make roughly $19 million in the final year of his rookie contract. Johnson Jr. has played well over the past two years, with PFF blocking grades of 80.8 and 76.6, respectively. He ended both seasons on injured reserve and hasn’t played 900 snaps since his rookie year. The Cardinals will likely want to see a little more durability before awarding him a monster extension.
Second-round pick Denzel Boston plays outside — as Tillman has — and Tillman is entering the final year of his rookie contract. We doubt there’s a huge market for Tillman’s services after he played just 13 games last year and wound up with only 270 receiving yards, but he’s shown flashes of talent in the past and could be an interesting reclamation project if the Browns wanted to move on.
With Tyler Goodson gone, Giddens is the incumbent and has the higher draft capital, so we’re surprised to see a beat writer giving some leeway to the idea that McGowan could be the backup right away. Neither player figures to play much without a Jonathan Taylor injury, but they could be interesting contingency holds in deeper leagues.
He mentions Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and seventh-round pick Deion Burks as possible competition for the spot. We also (our speculation) wouldn’t rule out the Colts picking up one of the several as-of-yet unsigned free agents like Jauan Jennings, Deebo Samuel, or Stefon Diggs. Westbrook-Ikhine has flashed big touchdown upside in the past and would be the most fantasy-useful player in this group if he wins a role.
The Raiders did not address wideout in April’s draft until the sixth round, leaving Nailor, Tre Tucker, and Jack Bech as the team’s likely starting receivers. It’s easy to see how Nailor could be the featured target in that group given how things have played out to this point. He’s got a WR4 case as we head into best ball season, though he’s being drafted outside of the top 150 picks more often than not at the moment.
So if the Browns start drafting injured players left and right, you know why. Baalke was fired by the Jaguars last January and didn’t have a job in the league last year. He’ll act as a sounding board for GM Andrew Berry.