Fantasy Football News

According to George Bremer of The Herald Bulletin, Indianapolis Colts TE Jelani Woods is dealing with a hamstring injury. (Source: George Bremer on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Woods has been at practice but is not dressed out as he works through a hamstring injury. The second-year TE received buzz as a breakout candidate in 2023 after seeing increased opportunity and production at the end of the 2022 season. The Colts have a busy tight end room with Kylen Granson, Mo Alie-Cox and rookie Will Mallory, but if Woods is healthy by the start of the year, he could lead the rotation. He played more than 50% of the team's snaps in four of the last six games in 2022.

Indianapolis Colts rookie WR Josh Downs is dealing with a "little bit of a knee issue," as reported by George Bremer of The Herald Bulletin. Head coach Shane Steichen says it isn't major. (Source: George Bremer on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Downs is reportedly walking on the sideline without any support and the injury isn't expected to be a worry for the regular season. Downs was drafted in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft after a productive season at North Carolina where he posted 1,029 yards and 11 TDs. When healthy, Downs can provide a middle-of-field option for rookie QB Anthony Richardson, complementing the skills of Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce.

The New Orleans Saints brought in QB Derek Carr's former head coach Jon Gruden to help Carr and the offensive coaching staff in installing Dennis Allen's offense for 2023. (Source: ESPN)

Fantasy Impact: The offensive system in New Orleans, similar to that in Las Vegas, is a branch of the West Coast offense. By bringing in Gruden, Allen was able to help introduce his offensive system. Carr said that the offense in New Orleans is new, but that it has similarities to things he grew up on. Carr currently has an ECR of QB18 according to FantasyPros, making him a solid QB2 option as usual, only once finishing in the top 12 at QB.

According to Michael Baca of nfl.com, Dallas Cowboys WR Michael Gallup is feeling "springy again" and is "very confident" he's back to where he was when he posted his 2019 breakout campaign. (Source: Michael Baca, nfl.com)

Fantasy Impact: In the 2022 season, Gallup didn't return to the field until Week 4 following an ACL injury that kept him sidelined. Now, 18 months later, Gallup is feeling fresh and is "all smiles" when he enters the Cowboys' facility. In 2022, Gallup had 424 yards and four TDs in 14 games with career-low marks in both ADOT and YAC per reception. With the addition of Brandin Cooks and a healthy offseason under his belt, Gallup could return to form in what is expected to be a potent Dallas offense.

According to Coral Smith of nfl.com, Jacksonville Jaguars RB Travis Etienne Jr. says that he is using this offseason to focus on "fine-tuning" his skills, like ball security, as he gets his first healthy camp. (Source: Coral Smith, nfl.com)

Fantasy Impact: Etienne missed his rookie season with a foot injury which he said was a large focus of his 2022 offseason. He said that this offseason he is able to work on "all football." Etienne also embraces the team's additions of RBs D'Ernest Johnson and Tank Bigsby, saying that they will help him with the wear and tear on his body through a committee. Despite these additions, Etienne is currently ranked as the RB12 according to FantasyPros' Expert Consensus Ranking following his first 1,000-yard season.

The Arizona Cardinals released WR DeAndre Hopkins Friday. (Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter )

Fantasy Impact: Hopkins, who was rumored to be on trade block, will now be free to sign with any team heading into the 2023 season. The 30-year-old receiver logged 717 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 64 receptions in nine games last season. Hopkins will likely head to a playoff contender which should help him retain his fantasy value. He recently stated his top five quarterbacks that he would like to catch passes from were Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Justin Herbert.

Broncos coach Sean Payton said Javonte Williams is 'working in a limited capacity' in OTAs. (Source: Nick Kosmider on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: It is a positive sign for Williams that he is even practicing at all on the field. He continues to work his way back to full health and his status will be one to monitor leading into training camp.

Kyle Pitts continues to rehab his torn MCL and is not practicing in OTAs. (Source: The Athletic)

Fantasy Impact: The reports continue to suggest Pitts will be healthy and practicing by training camp. His status will be one to monitor nonetheless over the next couple of months.

The Detroit Lions sent a conditional seventh-round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for K Riley Patterson, releasing WR Keytaon Thompson in the process. (Source: detroitlions.com)

Fantasy Impact: Patterson was on the verge of being released when the Jaguars signed veteran K Brandon McManus on Thursday morning, but the Lions moved to keep him off the waiver wire. Patterson, who went undrafted in 2021, played his first season for the Lions, setting a franchise record for consecutively made field goals to start a career. His career mark of 87.8% on field goals will allow him to compete for a 2023 roster spot with veteran Michael Badgley and XFL signee Parker Romo. The Lions converted just 80% of their field goals last season, the seventh-worst mark in the NFL.

According to Kevin Patra of nfl.com, Atlanta Falcons QB Desmond Ridder feels more comfortable in his team's offense heading into his second year, saying that his "head was spinning" in his rookie season. (Source: Kevin Patra, NFL.com)

Fantasy Impact: With the Falcons letting go of veteran QB Marcus Mariota in the offseason, the path is paved for third-round pick Ridder to lead the team. According to Patra, his leadership is a quality the team admires about Ridder, something needed on a relatively young offense. Ridder said his rookie year was not easy for him, but he still threw no interceptions across his four starts. There's certainly still room to improve for Ridder in Year 2, but the ascending offense with a strong run game and good play-action potential offers the Cincinnati product plenty of room to learn along the way as he proves his worth as a starter.

Jimmy Garoppolo underwent foot surgery after signing with the Raiders in March and is not on the field at OTAs, according to a report from The Athletic's Tashan Reed and Vic Tafur. (Source: Tashan Reed and Vic Tafur, The Athletic)

Fantasy Impact: An exact timeline for his Garoppolo's is not known, though the expectation is that he'll be ready for the start of the season. The Raiders reportedly discovered this issue during his physical back in March, and that is why his introductory press conference was delayed. Brian Hoyer is the backup in Vegas, and he'll presumably see plenty of work this offseason and in the preseason with Jimmy G sidelined.

Brandon McManus and the Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to a one-year deal. (Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter )

Fantasy Impact: McManus has found a new team just 48 hours after being released by the Denver Broncos. McManus likely will face little competition in camp to start the season as the Jaguars’ kicker. The 31-year-old struggled last season, converting 77.8% of his field goals and 92.6% of his extra point attempts last season.

Commanders tight end Armani Rogers suffered a torn Achilles in practice on Tuesday. (Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Rodgers is expected to undergo surgery next week. He is expected to make a full recovery, but he'll be sidelined indefinitely. Rodgers converted to tight end last season and was going to be battling for a role behind Logan Thomas among the Commanders tight end room.

Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said Darnell Mooney is still "progressing" from his ankle injury that sidelined him to end last season. (Source: Kevin Fishbain on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Mooney suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 12 of last season. He is missing voluntary OTAs as he continues to work his way back to full health and remains without a clear timetable to return.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said Brock Purdy will be allowed to start throwing sometime next week. (Source: Taylor Bisciotti on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: There have been conflicting reports on the status of Purdy all offseason, but this would suggest he is on track to be fully healthy for training camp barring any setbacks. It will still be worth monitoring throughout OTAs and into training camp to see if Purdy is a full-go at any point. Trey Lance and Sam Darnold are the quarterbacks who would see first-team reps if Purdy is limited. This remains a fluid situation in the 49ers quarterback room.

Aaron Rodgers reportedly missed practice on Tuesday due to a strained calf. (Source: Josina Anderson on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: The injury is considered minor and Rodgers is expected to return to the field soon. His status will be one to monitor over the next few days nonetheless.

According to Sal Capaccio of WGR 550, WR Stefon Diggs was not seen on the field Tuesday at the start of OTAs for the Buffalo Bills. (Source: Sal Capaccio on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: It's not uncommon for a veteran player to be absent from OTAs and is not an immediate concern, but it is of note. In 2022, Diggs was at Buffalo's OTAs for the first week and then didn't participate after that. The Bills' mandatory minicamp begins June 13, and his appearance, or lack thereof, will be more indicative of whether or not there is more going on behind the scenes.

Austin Ekeler is staying in LA and having close to $2 million in incentives added to his deal for this season, according to a report from ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter. Ekeler had requested to be traded earlier this offseason, and he will now be a free agent after the 2023 season. (Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: This is a win-win-win for Ekeler, the Chargers, and fantasy managers. Not only does Ekeler stay as the workhorse RB for one of the better offenses in the NFL, but he'll also be in a contract year, meaning he'll have every motivation to perform while the Chargers, knowing they're likely to part ways after the season, will not be concerned about his workload.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Baltimore Ravens are signing veteran quarterback Josh Johnson. (Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Johnson has become a well-known journeyman quarterback, and this return to Baltimore will be his third stint with the team. The Ravens have already figured things out with franchise QB Lamar Jackson, and they tendered backup QB Snoop Huntley over the offseason as well. Johnson provides further injury security for a team that was down to its QB3, Anthony Brown, last season, especially with Jackson's injury history — having missed 10 games over the last two seasons.

According to Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan on the Pat McAfee Show, the team is planning on signing QB Mitch Trubisky to an extension. (Source: Pat McAfee on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Trubisky started five games for the Steelers before ultimately being supplanted by rookie QB Kenny Pickett. Khan noted that Pickett is still expected to be the team’s starter, but the organization is happy with Trubisky in his role as the backup QB. Trubisky can provide continuity in the quarterback room and also is a viable starter in the event of injury. The Steelers also re-signed Mason Rudolph, keeping together their QB room from last season.