Chicago Bears guard Nate Davis (groin), who was not in pads as he walked onto the practice field, missed practice again a day after head coach Matt Eberflus made strong comments about competition in his post-practice press conference. Davis has been sidelined for the past week due to a groin injury. While he appeared to be making progress on Tuesday, he was once more unavailable at the start of Wednesday's practice, according to multiple media reports. Notably, during walkthroughs, Ryan Bates, who is competing with Coleman Shelton for the starting center position, was seen playing right guard instead of Davis. Although Davis has participated in warmups, he has been leaving the field during team periods. On Tuesday, Eberflus emphasized the importance of being on the field to keep a starting role, suggesting that Davis might be benched in favor of Bates if his absences continue. Eberflus has underscored that the best ability is availability. Davis, who signed a $30 million contract with $19.25 million guaranteed last year, was expected to help solidify the Bears' offensive line. Monitoring the health of the Bears' offensive line is crucial for evaluating the fantasy value of running back D'Andre Swift and the development of rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.

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Green Bay's head coach, Matt LaFleur, had high praise for running back Josh Jacobs, particularly highlighting his skills in the passing game. LaFleur expressed excitement about Jacobs' versatility, noting his significant contributions as a pass-blocker and a receiving threat out of the backfield. This enthusiasm is reassuring for Jacobs' supporters, who already anticipated his crucial role in early down-rushing and goal-line situations. If Jacobs also takes on a receiving role, his fantasy value could soar this season. Conversely, this development could impact rookie running back MarShawn Lloyd, who hoped to showcase his passing game skills. LaFleur further emphasized Jacobs' toughness and rugged running style, suggesting that his actual value might only be fully appreciated in live tackling situations, where his reputation as a punishing runner will be evident. Given LaFleur's endorsement of Jacobs as a primary early down back with potential added receiving duties, he could be a strong pick in the 3rd round of drafts.

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The New York Jets have signed running back Deon Jackson while releasing wide receiver Hamze El-Zayat in a related move. Jackson, who worked out with the Texans in July but did not sign a contract, will now compete for a depth role in the Jets' backfield during training camp. A Duke product, Jackson signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2021 and has spent most of his career with them, with brief stints at the Cleveland Browns and Giants last season. In 29 career games (27 with the Colts), he has recorded 283 rushing yards, two touchdowns, and 223 receiving yards. The Jets recently experienced a void at running back following Tarik Cohen's retirement. Jackson will compete with Israel Abanikanda, Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis, and Xazavian Valladay to back up Breece Hall.

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Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce has yet to decide on a starting quarterback for the preseason opener against the Vikings, but he indicated that both Gardner Minshew II and Aidan O'Connell will each play a quarter. Pierce noted that the order of the starters is not significant because the other quarterback will start the following week. Throughout the offseason, Pierce allowed O'Connell to take the initial reps while equally distributing opportunities with Minshew. Early in camp, neither quarterback has managed to distinguish themselves. Although Minshew appeared to gain an edge over the past week, Pierce has maintained that the situation remains "status quo," with no final decision made. "This preseason game will be very telling," Pierce said of the QB battle. "I want to see these guys manage the ball, lead the team, and handle situational football." The unofficial depth chart for the game also lacks clarity, listing the first-team QB as either O'Connell or Minshew. While neither quarterback is likely to be worth rostering in single-QB leagues, monitoring the situation to determine who will be throwing passes to receiver Davante Adams and rookie tight end Brock Bowers is essential.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Chase Edmonds (undisclosed) remains sidelined and is nearing two weeks out. After a lackluster performance last year and an offseason marked by injuries, Edmonds' spot on the team is uncertain. He has been struggling with this injury since the early days of training camp and was expected to compete with rookie Bucky Irving and others for backup roles behind starting running back Rachaad White. Edmonds' productivity plummeted last season, as he managed only 176 rushing yards on 49 carries, putting him firmly on the roster bubble. On the plus side, Edmonds and White were the only running backs to see offensive snaps for Tampa Bay over the last ten weeks of the season, including the playoffs. While the backup role for any Tampa Bay running back may not be valuable in fantasy, Rachaad White managers must monitor the situation.

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Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Rondale Moore was carted off during training camp practice on Wednesday, and doctors put an air cast on his right leg. It's unclear how the injury happened, but it appears that Moore might be set to miss significant time with a serious injury.

Veteran free-agent wide receiver Robbie Chosen worked out for the San Francisco 49ers at training camp on Wednesday and was spotted on the field. The Niners appear to be on the verge of trading receiver Brandon Aiyuk, and rookie first-rounder Ricky Pearsall just aggravated his shoulder injury, so the Niners are looking for receiver depth behind Deebo Samuel, Pearsall and Jauan Jennings this summer. The 31-year-old Chosen has gone downhill since posting his only 1,000-yard season with the Carolina Panthers in 2020. In nine games with the Miami Dolphins in 2023, he caught four of six targets for 126 yards and a touchdown. If Chosen signs with the Niners, he'll strictly be competing for a depth role and won't be a lock to make the club out of training camp. Chosen has a combined 24 receptions for 408 yards and two scores the last two years.

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Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson won't play in Friday's preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, according to head coach John Harbaugh. Veteran signal-caller Josh Johnson will get the starting nod under center for Baltimore. Jackson is expected to play during the preseason, but that won't happen in the opener this weekend. The 27-year-old two-time NFL MVP missed some practices at the start of training camp with an illness, but he's fine now and is looking for an encore performance in 2024 after throwing for a career-high 3,678 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions while also rushing for 821 yards and an additional five TDs on the ground. Jackson isn't as prolific as a thrower as some other QBs, but his rushing prowess makes up for it and keeps him as a top-five fantasy signal-caller.

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Updating an earlier report, Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs (ankle) suffered a high-ankle sprain during training camp practice on Wednesday, according to sources after an MRI exam. Downs' recovery time was estimated at four to six weeks, which puts him right up against the start of the 2024 regular season in early September. It's tough news for the Colts, especially since Downs was impressing in camp and was a potential breakout candidate in his second year in the NFL. The bottom line is that the 22-year-old's availability for Week 1 is very much in question, and it could take him some time to get back up to speed as a reliable fantasy wideout. With Downs now out for the foreseeable future, rookie Adonai Mitchell and Alec Pierce will step into starting roles in three-receiver sets alongside Michael Pittman. Downs' injury makes Mitchell a more attractive late-round flier.

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New York Jets wide receiver Mike Williams (knee) was activated from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list on Wednesday, according to NFL Insider Ian Rapoport. This is promising news as the former Los Angeles Charger recovers from a torn ACL suffered in Week 3 of last season. The 29-year-old should have plenty of time to ramp up his activity before the Week 1 Monday Night Football contest against the San Francisco 49ers which is just over one month away. However, the team could still opt to bring him along slowly, so fantasy managers should check back for his latest injury updates. Williams is usually available outside the top 150 picks in redraft formats, so he's a low-risk, high-reward bench stash with spike-week potential. He's always been a volatile fantasy option, but since he'll be catching passes from Aaron Rodgers this year, he has legitimate fantasy football intrigue and upside.

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Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan said at Wednesday's practice that the deep-ball relationship with quarterback Will Levis and wide receiver Calvin Ridley has not been great so far. "We've missed a few. Hope deep-ball relationship improves as training camp goes on," Callahan noted. Ridley is still getting acquainted with his new quarterback during his first year in Tennessee, and Levis is going to want to form a rapport with his new wideout sooner rather than later in the absence of veteran DeAndre Hopkins (knee). The big-armed Levis is still something of a question mark entering Year 2, but he did lead the league with 10.4 air yards per attempt over 255 pass attempts in his rookie season in 2023. There's plenty of upside here as well for Ridley, who drew a substantial 28 deep targets with the Jacksonville Jaguars last year, but this connection is clearly a work in progress at the moment.

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The Miami Dolphins signed wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (undisclosed) this offseason to be their third wide receiver, but he has yet to practice as he works through an undisclosed injury. When healthy, however, he should still be the third option in the passing game. He is not the only candidate; tight end Jonnu Smith is coming off a career year in 2023 with the Atlanta Falcons, while running back De'Von Achane has notably worked on his receiving game throughout the offseason. As it stands, Beckham would likely need either superstar wideout Tyreek Hill or star receiver Jaylen Waddle to miss time for a pronounced role in Miami's high-octane passing attack. The 31-year-old former Pro Bowler did show he still had something left in the tank with the Baltimore Ravens last year, racking up 16.1 yards per reception through 35 catches.

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Washington Commanders running backs Austin Ekeler and Brian Robinson Jr. are both are listed as starters on the team's initial preseason depth chart. There's not much of a surprise here, as the Commanders will likely ride one back or the other based on game scripts this fall. Robinson projects as Washington's early-down and goal-line back with plenty of touchdown upside after finding the end zone nine times in 15 games last year, whereas Ekeler is set to be utilized mostly on third downs and obvious passing situations after tallying 74 targets with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023. There's a real chance this ends up being an even split for touches amongst the two, with Robinson being the preferred option in standard fantasy leagues and Ekeler the priority in PPR formats.

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Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Joshua Palmer appears in position to be the team's No. 1 target to begin 2024. After that on the depth chart, it appears to be an open competition between former first-rounder Quentin Johnston, rookie second-rounder Ladd McConkey, and veteran deep threat DJ Chark. Palmer is a bit of a WR4/5 sleeper pick in fantasy drafts this summer; he produced a solid 9.5 yards per target over 61 targets and 15.3 yards per reception across 38 catches for the Chargers in 2023. In LA's wide open receiving corps and with the most experience in this offense of the bunch, the 24-year-old former third-round pick out of Tennessee figures to be quarterback Justin Herbert's (foot) favorite target during the early going of the season.

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Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel offered a pretty strong suggestion on Wednesday at training camp that we won't see quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in action versus the visiting Atlanta Falcons at Hard Rock Stadium on Friday night. Fresh off bagging a long-term deal with the Dolphins during camp, Tagovailoa appears poised to sit out Miami's preseason opener. In his likely absence, Mike White and Skylar Thompson should soak up the available snaps on Friday against Jacksonville. Tagovailoa was a first-time Pro Bowler a season ago, leading the NFL in passing yards (4,624) and registering career-high figures in completion rate (69.3%) and touchdown passes (29) with 14 interceptions over 17 starts. The 26-year-old star signal-caller is safe to draft this summer as a low-end QB1 starter without much rushing upside in the later rounds after the top-tier options are off the board.

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Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said at Wednesday's practice that each quarterback will get a quarter of action against the hosting Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday at EverBank Stadium. That means Patrick Mahomes will appear in the first quarter, Carson Wentz will get the second quarter, and so on. Mahomes is unlikely to see more than a drive or two of play on Saturday, but Reid has been known for having his star and veteran players active in some capacity during exhibition games in the past. With an improved supporting cast around him following a career-low 4.5% touchdown rate and 7.0 yards per attempt over 16 starts for the Chiefs last year, Mahomes looks like a clear positive regression candidate among top-tier fantasy QB1 picks for 2024. Kansas City ran the second-most team pass plays per game (37.4) last season.

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The New York Giants have tons of opportunity at the tight end position this year after Darren Waller's retirement. They are looking to fill the void left by Waller with some combination of Daniel Bellinger, Lawrence Cager (hamstring) and rookie Theo Johnson. Bellinger is likely to be the starter, but Cager or Johnson are likely to be the team's primary pass-catching tight end. Cager started out training camp strong, and head coach Brian Daboll called him one of the standouts in the spring, but a hamstring injury has limited him recently. Johnson has returned after starting camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list with a hip problem. ESPN's Jordan Raanan says it's anyone's job to win this summer. None of the trio of TE options in New York are particularly attractive from a fantasy perspective, but Johnson probably has the most upside if he has a big enough role.

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Buffalo Bills wide receiver Chase Claypool (toe) did not practice at training camp on Wednesday. It's been over a week now since Claypool was last on the field at camp due to his toe injury. For a declining receiver that was already battling for a roster spot this summer, all of his missed practice time is really bad news. It's a shame, too, as Buffalo has plenty of opportunity at the receiver position in 2024 with Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, their top two receivers a year ago, no longer in town. The 26-year-old former second-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2020 out of Notre Dame is going to need to get back on the field soon to have any shot at winning a 53-man roster spot to begin the regular season. Since going for 860 receiving yards in 2021 in his second season, Claypool has struggled to find a role in the NFL.

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Chicago Bears wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. entered training camp on the roster bubble, although many expect the third-year wideout to be the team's starting kick returner in 2024. In an effort to be more versatile to the team, Jones agreed to spend this week of practice as a running back. He's spent most of camp to this point with the second-team offense while DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, rookie Rome Odunze and Tyler Scott take first-team reps. The 27-year-old's route-running has been erratic in his first two years in the NFL, so switching to RB is the team's creative attempt to unlock his big-play ability. Jones' return abilities on special teams will likely be enough to earn him a spot on the 53-man roster for the regular season, but fantasy managers in deeper leagues shouldn't be expecting much else in what is now a stacked receiver corps in Chicago.

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Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed (calf) was held out of training camp practice on Wednesday due to a calf injury. The Packers haven't given any indication that Reed's calf injury is a long-term ailment, but it's worth noting after he also missed the start of training camp due to a toe injury. Even if his calf injury isn't serious, there's a good chance he'll be held out of this weekend's preseason opener as a precaution. The 24-year-old second-year pass-catcher turned heads with eight touchdowns on 64 receptions and 793 yards in 16 games (13 starts) in his rookie season last year. Reed showed he has a nose for the end zone and plenty of big-play ability through the air and on the ground, but volume could be a question as long as both Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs stay healthy. Heading into Year 2 in 2024, fantasy managers should consider Reed more of a touchdown-dependent WR3/flex.

From RotoBaller