NFL Player News

According to Smith-Schuster, he felt about “60 percent” healthy during this time last season. The veteran receiver was dealing with a knee injury that carried over from his 2022 season with the Chiefs and said he never reached a point of feeling 100 percent healthy. Now, that’s all changed. Speaking Monday at OTAs, Smith-Schuster said he feels like he is in full health, which is good news for the Patriots, who signed him to a three-year, $25 million contract last offseason. Smith-Schuster caught 29 passes for 260 yards and one touchdown in 11 games for the Patriots last season, looking like a fraction of the player he was in 2022 when he went for 78-933-3 with the Chiefs. If healthy, he should be the best receiver in New England’s underwhelming wide receiver room. With that said, it’s hard to imagine him having anything more than WR4 fantasy upside until we get a chance to see him on the field.

Playing on the right side will be veteran Jonah Williams, who joined the Cardinals this offseason after four seasons with the Bengals. Williams, who has experience at left tackle, played right tackle for the Bengals in 2023 after the team brought in Orlando Brown to better secure Joe Burrow’s blind side. Moving Campbell to left tackle is a move that was expected to happen at some point after the team selected him with the No. 6 pick in last year’s draft. Johnson started all 17 games at right tackle last season, allowing eight sacks on 42 pressures while earning a PFF pass-blocking grade of 64.2. the former Ohio State Buckeye will have added responsibilities this season, but should be viewed as the best man for the job after Williams struggled from the left side his first three years in the league.

We shouldn’t read too much into this, but it is worth noting where the rookie currently stands in the pecking order. The Patriots don’t appear eager to rush Maye into anything he’s not comfortable with — especially this early into the offseason, allowing him to work behind Zappe on the first day of OTAs. Kyed also noted earlier that head coach Jerrod Mayo is impressed with the work Maye has put in since joining the team, saying that Maye has been spotted working by himself in the quarterback room to learn the offense. We wouldn’t expect Maye’s status as the QB3 to carry over into the regular season, but at least we know where he stands at this point in the offseason.

According to Schefter, Rice will be present and participate in all activities. The second-year receiver has had a tumultuous offseason since winning the Super Bowl with the Chiefs back in February. In addition to being involved in a hit-and-run and charged with two felonies, Rice is also under investigation for assaulting a photographer at a nightclub earlier this month. Rice posted a receiving line of 79-938-7 during his rookie campaign and averaged 72.1 yards per game over his final eight regular season contests. What should have been an exciting 2024 for Rice has gotten off on the wrong foot, as he’s likely facing some sort of suspension from the league once his legal issues are fully sorted out. Assuming he misses some time, an early selection of Rice in fantasy could make for a risky selection this season.

Polian joined the Commanders in 2021 after spending 2013-2019 as the Jaguars’ director of pro personnel. The son of hall-of-fame GM Bill Polian, Chris spent 14 seasons with the Colts in various roles and one season (2012) as the Falcons’ executive scout. At this time, we don’t know what Polian’s new role will be with the Browns.

This presumably puts an end to any potential trade of Lattimore, which is something that had been loosely speculated throughout the offseason. The veteran corner had his contract restructured in early January and is coming a second-straight season in which he dealt with nagging injuries. Lattimore has played in just 17 games over the last two seasons and will be 28 at the start of the season. He earned a 69.1 PFF coverage grade over 10 games last season and held opposing receivers under 50 yards in seven games. He remains a solid option in the secondary and now gets to be paired with rookie Kool-Aid McKinstry.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter was first on the scene, as Sosna, who spent the last two years as the Lions senior director of football administration, is now set to join the Commanders. In another post, Schefter said Sosna is expected to report to GM Adam Peters and will “be the club’s lead contract negotiator” while also overseeing “a number of football operations departments.” Prior to joining the Lions in 2022, Sosna served as the Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director/Chief of Staff at USC and worked at the University of Cincinnati before then. Sosna is the latest hire for the Commanders, who continue to re-shape their front office post-NFL Draft.

Last week, it was reported that it was “unclear” whether Tagovailoa would report to OTAs, as he and the Dolphins are in the midst of contract negotiations. Tagovailoa reportedly turned down one contract offer from the Dolphins earlier this offseason, and with Jared Goff fresh off the heels of signing a new deal that will net him more than $50 million a year, a new precedent has been established for Tagovailoa, who could be seeking top dollar on a market that’s been very kind to quarterbacks in recent offseasons. Tagovailoa has thrown for 25-plus touchdowns in back-to-back seasons and led the Dolphins to a 19-11 record in his starts over that span. He’ll almost certainly get the deal he’s looking for at some point, even if the on-field performance hasn’t quite matched the high-end money coming his way.

Johnson announcing his retirement is more of a formality than him actually walking away from the game. The do-it-all back who flirted with a 1,000-plus rushing and receiving yard season back in 2016 didn’t play a snap of football in 2023 and spent much of 2022 as a free agent before being signed to the Saints practice squad and suiting up for five games over the final three months of the season. When he was at his peak, Johnson was one of the best running backs in football — both real and fantasy. He was a key part of the disastrous 2020 offseason trade orchestrated by Bill O’Brien that sent DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals and proved to already be past his prime by the time he arrived in Houston as a 29-year-old running back. Johnson retires, having amassed 6,876 yards from scrimmage and 57 total touchdowns.

Mayer has been a full participant in the Raiders’ offseason program. His attention now turns to how to co-exist with new first-round teammate Brock Bowers. Mayer, of course, has said all the right things about his new position group mate, but Bowers’ presence is going to make it virtually impossible for Mayer to crack the top 20 at tight end despite his promising rookie campaign.