Are there robots in heaven? And why are they built to play football? Either way, it’s clear Kubiak thinks highly of his superstar tight end. He added that the team needs to get the most out of Bowers this year. It doesn’t take a detective to figure out Bowers will be the centerpiece of this team’s passing attack. The receiver room is led by Tre Tucker and Jalen Nailor. Both players are primarily deep threats who have never been the focal point of a pro offense. Even after a down 2025 season, Bowers is comfortably in the TE1 overall conversation in early fantasy drafts.
For the first time in a long time, Rodgers isn’t stringing anyone along or drawing out a decision for months. When asked if this was his final year, Rodgers responded point-blank, “Yes. This is it.” He told reporters he thought he was done after Mike Tomlin walked away, but the hiring of Mike McCarthy eventually changed his mind. Rodgers did, however, wait until after the draft and then some to make his decision. The hope for Steelers fans is that McCarthy will get more out of Rodgers than Arthur Smith did, though we remain skeptical that there is much left in the tank as Rodgers enters his age-43 season.
In a video from Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, Judkins appears to be moving quite well for a player recovering from a fractured fibula and a broken ankle. He suffered the injuries in Week 16 of his rookie season and was expected to miss 4-5 months. A mid-May return puts him on the early end of that timeline. Barring a surprise, Judkins should be full-go for the start of training camp. He was on pace for over 1,000 yards from scrimmage before missing the final two games of 2025. Fantasy managers can treat him as a volume-based RB2 in early drafts.
It might not mean much for the forgotten man in the Browns quarterback room this offseason. Deshaun Watson continues to operate as the team’s starter in offseason practices. Shedeur Sanders is expected to compete for the starting gig, though he’s expected to be an underdog to begin the regular season under center for a revamped Cleveland offense. Head coach Todd Monken appears enamored with Watson, who has played in 19 regular season games since 2021. Gabriel had the NFL’s lowest EPA per drop back in 2025, just ahead of Sanders. The Browns have insisted they would not trade Gabriel this offseason.
Harvey is among the Jaguars beats who appear deeply skeptical of a recent report about the team trading BTJ for A.J. Brown in the coming weeks. Brown, long unhappy with his usage in the Eagles offense, remains a favorite to land with New England this summer. “Why would the Jags trade for a player who wants to always be targeted when their offense does not have a No. 1 WR by design?” Harvey said, referring to the mercurial Brown. “And they’re loading up to deploy more tight ends and Parker Washington is set for an extension and they just gave Jakobi Meyers one and they aren’t trading BTJ.” After going for nearly 1,300 yards and ten touchdowns as a rookie in 2024, Thomas fell off big time in 2025, finishing the season with 707 yards and two scores and operating as the third or fourth option in the Jags’ pass-catching pecking order. It would be a stunner if the Jaguars were to give up on Thomas, 23, after one down year.
“It sounds like we’re not going to be throwing the ball a lot,” Dart said during a recent town hall with Giants fans and reporters when asked about how New York’s offense might look under new OC Matt Nagy. “We’re going to keep giving it to [Cam Skattebo] until they can stop it.” Skattebo said during the town hall that he was still learning to trust his surgically repaired ankle. He pledged to be ready to go for Week 1. If he’s not fully healthy for the season opener, look for Tyrone Tracy and perhaps Devin Singletary to take on bigger workloads.
Coleman, the 109th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, will likely start as RB3 on the Denver’s depth chart to begin training camp. JK Dobbins and RJ Harvey are widely expected to split the team’s backfield workload, as they did for much of the 2025 season before Dobbins’ season-ending ankle injury. Broncos head coach Sean Payton said in late April that Coleman “can play on third downs.” Coleman, who produced 71 percent of his rushing yardage after contact at Washington, could secure a reliable role in the Denver backfield if Dobbins or Harvey miss time in 2026.
This of course has to do with Rashee Rice failing a drug test and undergoing another knee procedure and missing up to two months. Rice this week violated his probation by testing positive for THC and will serve 30 days in jail. He’s slated to be out of jail by the middle of June. This is just the latest in a long time of off-the-field issues that have kept Rice away from the team. There’s also the matter of Rice’s health, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Tuesday that the KC wideout will be sidelined for upwards of two months after undergoing a clean-up procedure on his right knee. The Chiefs, Breer said, believed Rice can be a top-10 NFL receiver when healthy, but are skeptical as to whether they can trust Rice to stay out of legal trouble and stay healthy. Rice’s legal woes and injury history could force Kansas City to reconsider an offer for Brown, who is widely expected to be dealt by the Eagles after June 1. The Patriots and Jaguars have also been mentioned as potential suitors for Brown. “I don’t believe that happens,” Breer said of Brown landing in Kansas City. “But I think if you’re the Chiefs you have to take a look at all of these things going forward.”
Howard is set to compete with veteran Mason Rudolph for backup duties to begin the season. Rudolph and Howard were splitting reps in the team’s offseason program last month. NFL Network reported in January that Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy “likes Will Howard a lot” and sees potential in his offensive system. “I’m not saying the Steelers believe Will Howard will be the quarterback for ten years after Aaron Rodgers is gone,” Breer said. “But I do think Mike McCarthy sees a little something there and wanted to take a closer look.” Howard, going into his age-25 season, threw for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions during his final collegiate season at Ohio State in 2024. He ranked fourth among all CFB quarterbacks in adjusted yards per attempt that season.
Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud describes Irving as “the chair” of what looks to be a running back by committee with Kenneth Gainwell and Sean Tucker. We’ll see what the price range settles in as for Irving, but it’s hard to imagine him as a top-40 pick based on the past week of updates. The story quotes OC Zac Robinson as saying “Shoot, one guy might get this amount the next week. They might end up balanced, feeling the hot hand, and we’ll see where it goes.”
Perhaps more notable is Fowler’s report that Monken’s offensive concepts are things Watson “has run in the past and been his best at.” The drumbeat is steadily growing louder for Watson, who has gained steam in recent weeks as the preferred option to open 2026 as the Browns starter. Watson is in the final year of the record-setting contract he signed in 2022 and is also returning from a torn Achilles that he initially suffered in 2024 and later re-ruptured, which sidelined him for all of 2025. Watson has struggled as a starter with the Browns, throwing for 3,365-19-12 in 19 games while leading them to a 9-10 record. Watson and second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders figure to be the team’s top two options at the position whenever the team decides on a starter. But early reports continually point to Watson getting the first crack at the job.
Boutte has been the subject of offseason trade talks and could soon be on the verge of getting replaced if the Patriots acquire A.J. Brown from the Eagles in the coming weeks. Boutte, 24, is in the final year of his rookie contract and caught 33 passes for 551 yards and six touchdowns last season. He has served primarily as a field stretcher for the Patriots over the last two seasons, and had the highest ADOT (17.5) of any pass catcher on the team last season who had 30 or more targets. We’ll see if Boutte reports when mandatory activities begin.
Odegard corroborates a report by Arizona sports radio host John Gambadoro that Sweat’s absence from Cardinals OTAs is not injury-related. The 29-year-old pass rusher signed a four-year, $76.4 million contract with Arizona last offseason and will enter the second year of this deal in 2026. Sweat tallied a career-high 12.0 sacks in 17 games for the Cardinals last season, adding four forced fumbles. With edge rushers seemingly re-setting the market with every new contract, Sweat is now outside the top-20 EDGE contracts in average annual salary. It is unclear if Sweat’s absence is fully due to a contract dispute or if there are other factors involved, but the veteran edge rusher is absent from Cardinals organized team activities for now.
Rice’s off-the-field issues once again will coincide with a knee issue. Schefter reports Rice underwent a clean-up procedure to remove “loose debris” in his right knee one week prior to being ordered to serve 30 days in jail due to violating probation. The 26-year-old is expected to be sidelined two months due to the procedure. He will miss much of the Chiefs offseason program but would be ready to return for training camp, as long as legal issues do not keep him off the field. The Chiefs have a sparse receiving room behind Rice and would have Xavier Worthy and Tyquan Thornton as their top two wide receivers without Rice. Pending Rice’s recovery, the Chiefs may look to add a pass-catcher or two for depth heading into training camp.
Johnson recently met with the Giants and Eagles after being a steady special teams contributor for the Chiefs in 2022, 2024, and 2025. He played the 2025 season on a one-year contract.
Jackson has not always attended voluntary portions of the Ravens’ offseason program in years past, but did attend voluntary minicamp in April. The Ravens have been hoping to reach a new contract extension with the 29-year-old before the start of the season, though a deal is yet to emerge. New head coach Jesse Minter said, “we’ve had some great conversations; know when he’s going to be back.” Jackson seems to still be in good standing with the team and looks to be more involved with voluntary workouts under a new head coach. He has yet to arrive at OTAs, but Minter’s words demonstrate little concern just yet.
Rice reportedly tested positive for marijuana, released in court documents dated Tuesday, 19 May. The court order states that the defendant (Rice) was placed in custody Tuesday and has been ordered to serve 30 days in jail, to end 16 June. That places Rice in line to miss organized team activities and mandatory mini-camp. The presence of a controlled substance in his system was a violation of the probation stemming from third degree felony charges levied last July in connection with highway racing that led to bodily harm. This comes a month after the league ruled that there would be no further adjudication resultant from the incident. That could change given recent happenings. Stay tuned, sports fans. Xavier Worthy would be the player to benefit most in a fantasy setting should Rice face additional league discipline.
Felton last played in the league in 2022 and announced he has accepted a player development role for the Browns. The 27-year-old last played for the Browns but was added to the Bengals’ practice squad in 2023, failing to appear for them during the regular season.
“It’s all very intentional,” Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters when asked about the team’s quarterback rotation in offseason practices. Penix, coming off knee surgery this offseason, is participating in individual drills and seven on seven drills for now. When he’s ready, Penix is expected to split first-team snaps with Tagovailoa, by far the more accurate of the two Atlanta QBs. Falcons president of football operations Matt Ryan said in early May that he was unsure if Penix would be fully healthy to start training camp in late July. Stefanski has said the team will not “rush” Penix back under center. Tagovailoa, who ranks sixth in EPA per drop back over the past three NFL seasons, would seem to be the odds-on favorite to start the regular season as Atlanta’s starter.
After signing a four-year contract extension worth $68 million last week, Achane is practicing alongside his teammates under new Miami head coach Jeff Hafley. Hafley said “the feeling around the team was excitement, happiness for De’Von Achane after settling the business side of things this offseason with his contract extension,” according to the Sun Sentinel’s David Furones. One of the league’s most efficient running backs, Achane is set to be the centerpiece of the Dolphins offense in 2026.
Under new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, who will reportedly have “total authority” over the team’s offense, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles will have to learn an entirely new playbook predicated on the concepts that have made Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers and Sean McVay’s Rams two of the league’s most efficient offenses. This is very much in line with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie pledging in April that the team would implement “significant offensive changes” after a 2025 campaign in which they ranked 17th in EPA per play, in line with the Texans and Falcons. Depending on which version of the Shanny/McVay offense Mannion installs, Saquon Barkley could see more pass-game involvement while short-area pass catchers like Dallas Goedert and rookie Makai Lemon see plenty of looks from Hurts, who last year ranked 14th out of 45 qualifying quarterbacks in accuracy on short throws. In 2024, Hurts led all QBs in accuracy on attempts between 1-10 yards.
Skattebo during a Monday town hall event said he is still learning to trust his surgically repaired ankle and conceded he’s “a little ways out” from a full recovery from a horrific lower leg injury last October.
Shough also praised the young receiver for his separation, his hands, and his big-play ability. Shough and Tyson have had less than a month to get familiar with one another since the NFL Draft ended last month, but it sounds like the two are already building early chemistry that they hope will quickly translate to the field. Tyson caught 61 passes for 711 yards and eight touchdowns last season while at Arizona State, with injuries limiting him to just nine games. If he can stay healthy, Tyson has a chance to turn into a meaningful player early on, both for the Saints and fantasy managers. His presence should also help free up more room for Chris Olave, who turned in the best season of his career in 2025.
Bernard’s signing comes on the Steelers’ first day of voluntary OTAs. The former Alabama prospect who was drafted 47th overall last month is hoping to make an early impact as a rookie despite joining a crowded receiver room that includes D.K. Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. as its top targets. Bernard totaled 64 receptions for 862 yards and seven touchdowns in his final season with the Crimson Tide while playing 62.2 percent of his snaps on the outside, per PFF. That said, Bernard also has ample experience playing from the slot, which should give him an inside edge for early playing time in three-receiver sets.
It’s worth reminding folks that these are voluntary activities, meaning Brissett can avoid them without any repercussions. That said, it was reported last week that the team informed Brissett that he would be the starting quarterback this season, so his presence is somewhat vital. Brissett staying away from the team’s facilities is nothing new. The 33-year-old signal-caller is reportedly seeking a pay raise for this upcoming season, as he’s due to make $4.88 million in base salary in 2026, which puts him near the bottom of the league among current starters. Brissett threw for 3,366-23-8 in 14 games for the Cardinals last season while completing 64.9 percent of his passes. Playing on a team that’s in the middle of a rebuild, it seems unlikely that Brissett will remain the starter through the duration of the season, but it’s clear the career backup is hoping to make the most of his situation. Assuming he doesn’t report to OTAs, the next date to watch will be June 8th, when the Cardinals are scheduled to hold their first day of mandatory minicamp.