Football Is Back!!!
You can sign up below to get these summaries delivered each week via email! 👇
Oooooh baby! Real football is back and this year it feels particularly hard to believe. We got one last offseason summary to help you make those last minute pickups or trades. Let’s get to it!
News & Notes:
The Lions have signed RB Adrian Peterson to a 1-year deal worth a max value of $2.3M. The Washington Football Team released Peterson last week.
The Cardinals “are making star WR DeAndre Hopkins the highest paid non-QB ever, giving him a 2-year contract extension worth $54.5M in new money -- $27.25M per year. Hopkins, who did the deal himself, gets $42.75M guaranteed at signing.”
CLE RB Kareem Hunt is getting a 2-year, $13.25M extension with the Browns.
The Chargers have extended WR Keenan Allen. More than $80m on a 4-year extension making him the 2nd highest-paid WR in the NFL.
Rookie Lynn Bowden Jr. has been traded from the Raiders to the Dolphins. Lynn Bowden Jr. is now listed as WR on the Dolphins unofficial depth chart (previously RB).
The Seahawks have re-signed suspended WR Josh Gordon.
“Negotiations between the Eagles and TE Zach Ertz came to an abrupt halt when PHI made an offer that had less guaranteed money than their offer in November. The backloaded offer also had less cash over the next 4 seasons annually than Austin Hooper’s Browns contract.”
The Patriots have released RB Lamar Miller. Related: “Rookie RB J.J. Taylor impressed his Patriots coaches this offseason.”
The Dolphins released QB Josh Rosen. He was later signed by the Bucs to the practice squad.
Jaguars signed RB Dare Ogunbowale, formerly of the Bucs.
Teams have called the Rams inquiring about a TE Gerald Everett trade. Reports are that they’ve been met with a "resounding 'no'"
Injury Updates:
TB WR Mike Evans missed practice with a hamstring injury. Coach Bruce Arians said the Bucs are ready to "take it to the wire" with Evans all the way up until game time Sunday.
PHI WR Jalen Reagor is doing well in his rehab. There’s hope he’ll play in week 2. The Latest reports say he’s “doing everything in practice.”
HOU WR Brandin Cooks was downgraded to DNP in Tuesday’s practice.
DAL WR Amari Cooper has been dealing with a hamstring injury recently, but was a full participant in the most recent practice.
IND TE Trey Burton put on Injured Reserve with a calf injury.
CHI RB David Montgomery back at practice. Teammate Tarik Cohen says David Montgomery has bounced back from the groin injury very quickly: "It's like it never happened."
ARI RB Kenyan Drake (foot) was not listed on the team's latest injury report.
JAX HC Doug Marrone on RB Ryquell Armstead's absence: "He will be out for awhile." Said he wouldn't put a timetable on it, but directly said it will be awhile until he's back. Armstead is on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
CIN WR A.J. Green expected to be a full-go on Sunday.
SF WRs Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk both missed the latest practice and their status for Sunday remains unclear.
Camp Buzz:
Jaguars GM David Caldwell said rookie UDFA RB James Robinson's training camp played a role in the decision to release Leonard Fournette. OC Jay Gruden on James Robinson: "I feel very confident in his demeanor and his approach to the game that he will be ready [Sunday]." Says his biggest surprise has been how well he's caught the ball and blocked in camp.
Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians said RB Leonard Fournette will have a "solid role" in Week 1 against the Saints.
SF WR Brandon Aiyuk - "I watched how the 49ers used Samuel as a rookie during training camp. I saw how they used Aiyuk in this training camp. It isn’t comparable. Aiyuk was used all over the field. From jet sweeps to deep bombs. The biggest difference was that Aiyuk is winning at every level."
SF RB Raheem Mostert - “After an offseason of wondering whether Mostert will start, he’ll be among the league leaders in rushing yards and contribute just enough in the passing game to garner MVP attention.”
CLE TE Harrison Bryant wins award as top rookie in Browns camp. Initial depth charts should be taken with a massive grain of salt, but it’s worth noting that the team website now has Bryant listed as 2nd, ahead of TE David Njoku.
ATL TE Hayden Hurst - “Dirk Koetter says Hayden Hurst offers more vertical speed to Atlanta's offense. He's been really impressed with his ability to catch in traffic.”
SEA WRs: "The expectation is both Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf cross 1,000 yards. For D.K. the expectation is he gets over 10 TDs."
BAL RB Mark Ingram on QB Lamar Jackson: “He’s a million times ahead of where he was last year.”
PIT WR Diontae Johnson - From Ben Roethlisberger: "I’m looking forward to getting out in an actual game feel with him. I think the sky’s the limit in terms of actual talent with that guy. He’s fast, he’s quick, he can get open, he’s got great hands"
From a beat writer: “sounds like Ben Roethlisberger had quite the connection with WR Diontae Johnson. He opened practice with a 30-yard strike to the second-year WR, who caught it in stride. He had three other significant completions to Johnson throughout practice.”
PIT TE Eric Ebron — “Ebron will be used all over the formation and could be heavily targeted this season.” Will be “flexed out all over the field as a mismatch chess piece. Ebron’s going to get a lot of targets and looks this year."
DAL TE Blake Jarwin — QB Dak Prescott: "He's grown into a No. 1 tight end... Blake can be an amazing player in this league. He's gonna help this offense in so many ways. He's just as explosive as those other 3 WRs (Cooper, Gallup, Lamb) ... This is gonna be such a fun year."
Bears coach Matt Nagy had a pretty interesting reason as to why he decided to name QB Mitch Trubisky the starter. I kinda dig it.
Even WAS QB Dwayne Haskins is hyping up RB Antonio Gibson as a fantasy sleeper (not sure we can call him a sleeper anymore). RB Adrian Peterson on Gibson after Peterson was released: “This system really fits him… but they really want one main guy to do it & they drafted Gibson for it.”
DEN WR Courtland Sutton: “This Drew Lock and Courtland Sutton connection is fun to watch. Over. And over. And over. Love their trust and chemistry.”
Cold Water:
Sean McVay said just now he doesn't know who'll start at running back Sunday vs. Dallas. He's "optimistic" Darrell Henderson (hamstring) will be ready to go with Malcolm Brown and Cam Akers. "If he is, that's a three-back rotation you feel really good about."
NE QB Cam Newton: “During camp in a limited scheme environment, Newton completed less than 60 percent of his passes, threw five picks, and took several would-be sacks waiting for someone to get open outside of Julian Edelman.”
PHI RB Miles Sanders: “Doug Pederson says it's a possibility that they might manage Miles Sanders early in the season after Miles missed most of training camp.”
SEA RB Chris Carson: “I’d be shocked if Chris Carson continues to dominate touches the way he did last season.” “My guess is that things will be much more of a timeshare this year. Carlos Hyde will likely be utilized for series at a time in order to spell Carson. DeeJay Dallas has also earned playing time as a third-down back.”
DEN RB Melvin Gordon: “Melvin Gordon out here for final practice… once again Phillip Lindsay has changed Broncos plans at RB. This has looks of 50/50 split and perhaps even "hot hand" approach.”
WAS RB Antonio Gibson: “In the wake of Adrian Peterson's release, I asked Ron Rivera specifically about Antonio Gibson. The coach spoke highly of Gibson and JD McKissic but then Rivera brought up Bryce Love and 'all the things he's done.'"
"If [BUF] RB Devin Singletary's fumbling issues continue into the regular season, rookie RB Zack Moss "could take over as the lead back."
Analysis, Theory, Hype:
Fantastic thread breaking down rookie RB James Robinson who’s recently been named the starting RB for the Jaguars.
Hard not to get hyped about PHI rookie WR Jalen Reagor in dynasty from this Twitter thread.
What if you took QB Jameis Winston and removed the turnovers? You’d get DET QB Matthew Stafford.
A quick look at 3 PPR running backs to roster in 2020.
It’s that time of year when folks who have never played fantasy football or even watched a game are trying it out for the first time. Here’s a great breakdown for players who are brand new to fantasy football and/or NFL games.
Reddit thread on IND WR Parris Campbell — forgotten stud or fantasy dud?
Top 12 rookies that could help your team for the 2020 season.
Using advanced metrics to identify five situations worth your attention.
“I can't emphasize this enough: [MIA TE] Mike Gesicki only played 159 snaps at in-line tight end. He played 539 at WR, including 461 in the slot. Even prime Jimmy Graham didn't play that much WR.”
Massive week 1 fantasy football primer.
There’s a trend moving towards removing kickers from fantasy leagues. Here’s one person’s take on why kickers are great.
RBs that could explode for 300+ touches in 2020.
“Berry's 10 lists of 10: Busts, bold predictions and fantasy buzz I'm buying.”
WAS WR Terry McLaurin draws some tough matchups the first 5 weeks. Good chance he still performs well, but if not, he could be a decent buy low option after those weeks.
Reddit thread: "Defensive Maneuvers" - Week 1 D/ST rankings.
The Fun Stuff:
A list of the rookie RBs that were named week 1 starters. Just like we all predicted.
88 seconds of JAX WR D.J. Chark looking unstoppable. (video)
Coach Brian Billick trolling both the Jaguars and the Browns in the same tweet.
Massive Twitter thread of the best team names people have seen so far this year.
The way DT Cam Heyward announced he’s staying with the Steelers. (video)
“Bruce Arians lying about how he’ll use his running backs. A four-part story.”
Big thread on Twitter of people describing their fantasy team with a gif.
“Anyone with Miles Sanders rostered on their Fantasy Football team, watching veteran RBs sign everywhere but Philly.”
Believe it or not, it was only 1 year ago when the Raiders released WR Antonio Brown.
RB Leonard Fournette tweeted a video of meeting his new friend Tom Brady for the first time.
The Buccaneers have created a monster.
RapSheet flaunting his prodigious professionalism.
Quite possibly my favorite bit of news of the week: “Coach Sean Payton says he bought the TB12 water and started getting a lot of emails from them. When he asked Tom Brady to have them stop, Payton says he got twice as many.”
That’s it for now. Find me on Twitter where I follow over 1,000 analysts + beat writers and retweet all the good stuff.
Great, nice legs!