Epenesa nearly signed with the Browns earlier this offseason, but they reportedly declined to make the deal final after reviewing Epenesa’s physical. Apparently, whatever ailed him is no longer an issue. Epenesa, 27, totaled 28 quarterback pressures, three sacks, 23 tackles and two interceptions last year.
The Ravens restructured Jackson’s contract earlier this offseason and he remains under contract through the 2027 season. Jackson opted not to attend some of the Ravens’ organized team activities at one point, which was thought to be a contract-related decision, but he ended up reporting late in May. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes made waves — and increased the quarterback market — with a two-year extension earlier today, bringing his annual average value up to $64 million. Waiting until next offseason to negotiate an extension could pay off for Jackson.
The pass protection and receiving talents that Holani showcased in the Seahawks’ Super Bowl LX run earned him the coaching staff’s trust last year. Although Holani is operating as the Seahawks’ current RB1, The News Tribune’s Gregg Bell notes that the team is increasing rookie RB Jadarian Price’s first-team involvement. Given Price’s first-round draft capital, it seems likely that he will overtake Holani in the practice rotation at some point this summer, but Holani seemingly does have a chance to retain a role once the season begins. Stay tuned.
Back in May, Macdonald thought Horton would have a chance to return in time for the Seahawks’ three-day mandatory minicamp, which is currently underway. That will not happen. Macdonald said, “it’s still all positive,” when asked about Horton’s rehab. He just needs a little more time. Horton injured his shin in practice, early in November last year. The team waited until later in the month to move him to injured reserve, where he spent the remainder of the season. Horton’s skill set overlaps with WR Rashid Shaheed, who secured a big payday this offseason. It could be tough for Horton to earn reliable playing time this year.
The News Tribune’s Gregg Bell notes that Price got “entire drives with the starters Wednesday,” which was more first-team work than the 32nd pick in this year’s draft got in OTAs.” Price is still behind RB George Holani in the pecking order, but Price’s increased involvement is a good sign. Bell referred to Price as the “RB1A” in a social media post, linking to the article in reference, indicating he still thinks Price will be the team’s starter. Holani has simply earned the coaching staff’s trust and could have a role in the regular season. We will see how things shake out in training camp, though.
Moore didn’t outright confirm that Kamara would be with the team this year. When asked whether Kamara would be on the team, Moore only said, “I think that’s how you always prepare.” Kamara and the Saints are in a bit of a standoff, with the Saints seemingly wanting him to take a pay cut while having no leverage to force the issue. The veteran runner made a surprise appearance at OTAs last week to make his presence known, though he was only with the team for a single day. Moore said he expects Kamara to be present at minicamp next week. For now, it looks like Kamara will be a Saint this year. He will likely play a change-of-pace role behind Travis Etienne.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the deal includes $37 million guaranteed. At $17.5 million per year, Brewer now trails only Tyler Linderbaum and Creed Humphrey in annual salary among centers. Pro Football Focus graded him as their No. 2 overall center last year and he led the position in run-blocking grade. Brewer also has experience at both guard spots, giving him some extra versatility, even if he is best deployed at center.
Smith announced his retirement in the middle of the 2025 season after signing a one-year deal with Philly just ahead of Week 1. His release makes him a free agent and is an indication that he plans to return to football this year. Smith totaled 1.5 sacks in five games with the Eagles last year. He is likely a part-time player at this point in his career, but Smith still has enough left in the tank to contribute on a playoff-caliber roster.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Mahomes is set to make $504.7 million between now and the 2033 season. Mahomes initially signed his record-setting, 10-year extension in 2020. It was worth $450 million at the time. Quarterback salaries have since skyrocketed, making Mahomes’ contract one of the most team-friendly deals for a high-end quarterback in the NFL. Before the extension, Mahomes was just the 13th-highest-paid quarterback in the league at $45 million per year. He will make $64 million per year, a new high-water mark for the league, starting next year. Schefter also noted that the first four years of the deal are fully guaranteed and contract mechanisms functionally guarantee the rest.
LaFleur said Proctor will miss “quite a bit of time” and eventually added, “if not the whole year.” It sounds like the fourth-round rookie will likely need season-ending surgery. Proctor was a standout performer at the 2026 NFL Combine after notching nine sacks at Southeastern Louisiana in his final season of college ball. Though he was likely slated for a part-time role in his first pro season, it’s still a blow to an Arizona defense that ranked 29th in points allowed last year.
McMillan has been in and out of practice during OTAs. He told reporters that he feels good now, though that was after missing today’s practice. McMillan played through a foot injury late in the 2025 season. It didn’t cost him any time, but it’s still slightly concerning that the issue hasn’t gone away entirely. As long as McMillan is able to suit up for the start of training camp, fantasy managers should still consider the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year as a high-end WR2.
Despite adding 15 pounds since entering the NFL, Allen said this is the lowest his body fat percentage has ever been. Allen missed most of the 2025 season with a knee injury that eventually required surgery. At this point, it sounds like his recovery is complete. Head coach Aaron Glenn talked up his potential in the passing game, though he said that he views Breece Hall, Allen, and Isaiah Davis as a “three-headed monster.” Allen could have some minor stand-alone value as a short-yardage back this year, but the presence of Davis will likely prevent him from making much of an impact on the redraft fantasy landscape.
Kraft did note that he will likely begin training camp on the PUP list. He specifically mentioned that he could use that time to get his conditioning ready ahead of Week 1. Kraft is still recovering from the torn ACL he suffered in Week 9 of last year, but all signs point to him being on or ahead of schedule. On a points-per-game basis, he exited 2025 as the TE4. He may not open the year at quite that level, but fantasy managers should bank on him being an every-week starter sooner rather than later.
Pierce is facing a 4-6 month recovery period after undergoing ankle surgery in late April. His Week 1 status is very much up in the air. Just before announcing his ankle injury, Pierce signed a four-year, $116 million contract with the Colts, who expect Pierce to be the team’s top wideout after Michael Pittman left for the Steelers. It could be a slow start to the regular season for Pierce, strictly a downfield pass catcher. Eventually he should be Daniel Jones’ No. 1 target in the balanced Colts offense.
Shipley said the Jaguars drafting Texas A&M TE Nate Boerkircher and Houston TE Tanner Koziol in the 2026 draft does not mean the Jaguars coaching staff has a smaller role planned for Strange, who last season 46 catches, 540 yards, and three touchdowns as the team’s TE1. Shipley expected Strange’s pass game involvement to grow as the Jaguars deploy more tight end-heavy offensive sets. The Jaguars, Shipley said, are “clearly hoping that injecting the [tight end] room with talent should allow Strange to produce at an even higher level than before.” Last season Strange was targeted on 21 percent of his routes, which ranked 25th out of 58 qualifying tight ends. Though he’ll likely be the team’s third or fourth option in the passing game, Strange should be a viable fantasy option in 12 and 14-team leagues this season.
“It’s watching the tape and knowing, like, it was good for a rookie,” Loveland said Tuesday, “but it’s not going to be good enough for a second-year or third-year guy. Knowing that, it’s, ‘All right, flush that. Clean up on the tape and (dial in on) certain things I need to get better at — which is dang near everything.” Colston was dominant late in the season, functioning as Caleb Williams’ top target in January, into the postseason, where he exploded for eight receptions, 137 yards and a two-point conversion catch in a playoff win against Green Bay. Loveland is in no danger of a low route rate in 2026, as head coach Ben Johnson looks to utilize the tight end as a mismatch against opposing secondaries. Loveland could easily lead all tight ends in fantasy scoring this year.
Johnson is returning for a 14th NFL season after struggling with a lingering foot issue in 2025, one that cost him seven regular season games. Philadelphia’s offense — especially their run game — fell apart with Johnson sidelined. The Eagles finished the season 13th in EPA per rush after leading the NFL in that metric in 2024. PFF graded the Eagles offensive line as last year’s 12th best run blocking unit. Berman said Johnson has always wanted to play in the kind of Shanahan-style offense new OC Sean Mannion has brought with him to Philly this season. If the grizzled veteran can stay healthy, look for the Eagles rushing attack to rebound in a big way in 2026.
Unlike in recent seasons, McLaurin won’t line up strictly on the left boundary in Washington OC David Blough’s system, Jhabvala said. “I think the multitude of formations and route combinations is going to give all of us flexibility to move around the formation, keep the defense on their toes and have a lot of routes that may look similar at the stem but different at the top,” McLaurin said. “Just having those types of variations in your route tree is just an unbelievable weapon to have as a receiver.” Entering his eighth NFL season and coming off a disappointing 2025 campaign in which he had 38 receptions over ten games, McLaurin will look to bounce back as Washington’s clear-cut No. 1 wideout this season. Before 2025, he had six straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons and scored a career high 13 touchdowns in 2024 during Jayden Daniels’ rookie year.
Okonkwo, who in March signed a three-year deal worth up to $30 million, has been an offensive highlight for Washington under first-year OC David Blough. “He has rare speed and versatility, and his knack for collecting yards after the catch only adds to his appeal,” Jhabvala said, adding that the Commanders could “use a heavy dose of multiple tight end sets” under Blough this season. While last year in Tennessee was a down season for Okonkwo — he ranked 30th among tight ends in yards per route run — he has proven to be efficient in the past. Over four seasons with the Titans he was targeted on 19 percent of his pass routes. Okonkwo could be a 12-team fantasy option in 2026 if Jayden Daniels stays healthy.
Alexander notes that Noel was primarily used in the return game last season, but “figures to be a factor this year as Houston looks for more production from its receivers outside of Nico Collins.” It remains to be seen how big of a factor he can be, though. Alexander believes the Texans are going to increase their two-tight end-set use this season, which shrinks the number of routes available to the wide receiver position. Texans WR Jayden Higgins has had a good offseason, and could be in line for the WR2 role. Should the Texans rotate Noel, Xavier Hutchinson and Tank Dell (knee) behind Collins and Higgins, target volume could be a problem for Noel.
Raiders coaches have asked Mendoza to learn the intricacies of taking snaps from under center, which is something he rarely did in college. After practice today, Raiders assistant head coach Mike McCoy said Mendoza “has done a phenomenal job playing under center.” Mendoza feels like he is “leaps and bounds” ahead of where he was just a few months ago, but is still working on timing up his footwork “a little better with the routes.” The sooner he masters the little things, the sooner the Raiders will name him the starter. For now, the team maintains that QB Kirk Cousins is their QB1.
Cameron injured his ankle during the draft process, so he only recently began practicing with his new teammates. He participated in special teams drills last week and made his offense debut today, on Tuesday, at mandatory minicamp. Per Shipley, Cameron arguably had the best day of any receiver. The Jaguars’ wide receiver corps is very deep, so it is tough to see how Cameron could become a meaningful contributor in year one. He is probably worth adding in dynasty formats, though. Keep an eye on him this summer.
The Jaguars hosted the first of three mandatory minicamp practices on Tuesday, and Tuten “left the defense firmly in his dust on several big runs.” Shipley notes that these are pad-less practices and tackling is not allowed, “but Tuten would not have even given them the chance” anyway. Everything changes once the pads go on, so we can only get so excited about Shipley’s consistently positive reporting on Tuten. That said, Tuten is still turning in showings worthy of consistently positive reports. The rug could be pulled quickly if RB Chris Rodriguez (foot) returns without issue for training camp, and RB LeQuint Allen remains entrenched as the passing down back. Shipley even complimented rookie RB J’Mari Taylor as seemingly being “the only running back who was able to go run-for-run with Tuten” on Tuesday. However, Tuten is making a case for a larger-than-expected workload, though. Continue to follow his development closely.
On April 20th, Colts general manager Chris Ballard said Pierce was looking at a three-month recovery after undergoing surgery on his ankle. The Colts’ exact training camp start and end dates have not yet been announced, but last year, it ran from July 23rd to August 14th. Returning partway through camp would technically put him a little bit behind schedule. Pierce signed a four-year, $114 million contract, so we know the team certainly hopes to increase his involvement this season. However, while Pierce rehabs post-op, WR Josh Downs and TE Tyler Warren continue to get into football shape while honing their craft. Pierce will still have time to get ready for the season if he returns in early August, but he’ll be cutting it closer than he ideally would.
Charbonnet went through a high-knees exercise before checking in with a trainer. There isn’t a whole lot to be drawn from this, but we suppose seeing Charbonnet go through rehab drills four months post-op is a positive of sorts. Questions remain as to when Charbonnet will be able to retake the field after undergoing ACL reconstruction this offseason, but he is expected to play at some point this year.