NFL Player News

Thielen isn't expected to play in Saturday's preseason contest versus the Jets, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Thielen will be joined by fellow wideouts Diontae Johnson (groin) and Xavier Legette in street clothes this weekend, meaning Terrace Marshall, Jonathan Mingo and Ihmir Smith-Marsette, among others, will man the position. At this point in his career, Thielen, a 10-year pro, doesn't necessarily require any reps before Week 1, when he'll begin his quest to replicate his 103-1,014-4 line on 137 targets in 17 regular-season contests in 2023.

Johnson (groin) isn't slated to play in Saturday's preseason contest against the Jets, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Johnson sat out the last two practices ahead of this contest due to a strained groin, so it's no surprise that he'll remain on the sideline Saturday. He'll be joined by fellow wide receivers Adam Thielen and Xavier Legette, which leaves Jonathan Mingo, Terrace Marshall and Ihmir Smith-Marsette, among others, to get reps at the position. Johnson is ramping up for his first season in Carolina after managing between 717 and 1,161 receiving yards over the last four campaigns.

Wilson is one of the 31 Jets not expected to dress for Saturday's preseason game at Carolina, Randy Lange of NYJets.com reports.

The Jets will hold out most of their veteran starters and top backups, allowing rookies and roster-bubble players to handle most of the snaps. The list of players not expected to be in uniform includes QBs Aaron Rodgers and Tyrod Taylor, RB Breece Hall, WRs Xavier Gipson, Allen Lazard and Malik Taylor and TEs Tyler Conklin and Jeremy Ruckert. The team also held Wilson out of its first preseason game and may not play him until Week 1.

Pettis caught each of his three targets for 53 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-3 preseason win over the Bengals on Saturday.

A 2018 second-round pick, Pettis was the Bears' No. 3 receiver as recently as 2022 but didn't play in 2023 after suffering a back injury last August. He's now battling for one of the final roster spots, having caught each of his three passes Saturday in the third quarter after starting QB Caleb Williams was pulled from the game.

Burton caught his lone target for a 19-yard gain in Saturday's 27-3 preseason loss to Chicago.

Burton started and got a lot of playing time early, while Ja'Marr Chase (contract), Tee Higgins, Andrei Iosivas and Trenton Irwin all were rested. Higgins, Iosivas and Irwin all worked ahead of Burton in the previous preseason game, but Burton came on strong in the second half to finish with a 3-82-1 receiving line on four targets in a loss to the Bucs. While he had a quieter game Saturday against Chicago and may enter Week 1 as a backup, Burton has at least done enough to remind the Bengals why they took him in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Starting the season lower on the depth chart doesn't mean he'll stay there all year.

Olszewski went down with a groin injury in Thursday's practice and will be out for a while, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reports.

The 6-foot return specialist's groin injury ended up sidelining him for Saturday's 28-10 preseason loss against Houston. Olszewski was primed to potentially serve as the primary returner for the Giants, but Isaiah McKenzie took the reps during the preseason game and will likely continue to do so.

Blair caught four of five targets for 91 yards in Saturday's 13-12 preseason loss to Baltimore.

Blair had more than three-fourths of Atlanta's receiving yards in the first half and then added a 27-yard catch in the third quarter before calling it a day. He's a 2021 UDFA with one regular-season NFL appearance to his name, but he flashed some downfield chops this past spring with the UFL's DC Defenders while generating a 25-584-3 across 10 regular-season games. Blair's total of 136 yards through two preseason games gives him a decent case for a backup job on a team with shaky WR depth behind starters Drake London and Darnell Mooney.

St. Brown isn't in line to play in Saturday's preseason game at Kansas City, PJ Green of Fox 4 KC reports.

Lions coach Dan Campbell didn't exactly commit to anything this week but did hint at holding out a lot of starters. St. Brown, of course, is one of the players that might sit even if other starters played, coming off a 2023 regular season with a 119-1,515-10 receiving line.

Coach John Harbaugh said Walker's lack of playing time in a preseason win over Atlanta on Saturday was related to a rib injury, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

The rookie fourth-round pick has only one target and no receptions through two preseason games and doesn't seem to have gotten any snaps before halftime. This perhaps mitigates concern about Walker's progress, but it does seem he's headed for a lower spot on the depth chart to start the season, likely behind Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor at the very least.

Jeudy and numerous others starters aren't expected to play in Saturday's preseason game against Minnesota, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

A lower-body injury has limited Jeudy this summer, but reports suggest he's been much more active in recent practices. He wouldn't play in this game even if there were no injury concern, as the Browns are also holding out QBs Deshaun Watson, RB Jerome Ford, TE David Njoku and WRs Amari Cooper (undisclosed), Elijah Moore, Cedric Tillman and David Bell (quad). The game will mostly be played by guys battling for back-end roster spots and backup roles.