NFL Player News

Covey underwent a procedure on his left knee this offseason, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The punt returner noted it likely contributed to the nagging quad issue he dealt with during the season, per McLane. As a receiver, Covey caught four balls for 42 yards and no touchdowns in 16 games in 2023, though he did averaged the second-most yards per punt return (14.4) in the league. In 17 games in 2022 with the Eagles, Covey did not record a catch.

Moore (knee) was a full practice participant Wednesday.

After the Chiefs activated him from injured reserve earlier in the day, Moore handled every on-field rep after being contained to three limited practices during the first week of Super Bowl LVIII prep. It remains to be seen to what extent the team incorporates Moore into the offense Sunday against the 49ers, but in three of five games before sustaining a swollen knee Week 15, he logged at least a 49 percent snap share.

The Lions signed Smith to a reserve/future contract Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Smith will head to Detroit after spending time with both the Saints and Broncos this past season. He made his lone appearance in 2023 with the latter team, recording no receptions over nine snaps on offense in a Week 8 win over the Chiefs.

The Chiefs activated Moore (knee) from injured reserve Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

After designating Moore for return from IR on Jan. 17, the Chiefs had until Wednesday to add him back on the active roster, or his season thus would be over. Now that the transaction has been made, Moore has a chance for his first game action since Week 15 in the Chiefs' Super Bowl LVIII matchup with the 49ers this Sunday. In order to gain active status, Moore likely will need to increase his practice participation this week after he was listed as a limited participant on all three of Kansas City's practice reports last week. Wednesday's upcoming injury report will reveal whether not not Moore is that much closer to being available to the offense again.

Williams (knee) said Jan. 8 that he's "slightly ahead" of schedule in his rehab from an ACL tear, Omar Navarro of the Chargers' official site reports.

Williams also mentioned that he liked playing in former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore's scheme, having caught 19 passes for 249 yards and a touchdown prior to suffering the ACL tear late in a Week 3 game. He'll have a more run-focused coordinator in Greg Roman if he's back with the Chargers in 2024, something that's far from assured given Williams' $20 million in non-guaranteed compensation for the final year of his contract. He had surgery Oct. 25, exactly one month after suffering the ACL injury, and he seemingly anticipates being ready for Week 1 of the 2024 season.

Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen made it clear Tuesday that he's hopeful the team will re-sign Evans, an impending free agent, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports.

Evans and quarterback Baker Mayfield have expiring contracts, and wide receiver Chris Godwin is scheduled for $20 million in non-guaranteed compensation for the final year of his deal in 2024. The possibility of significant change can't be ignored, but Coen's opening press conference left little doubt that part of his motivation for taking the Tampa Bay job was an expectation that the team's core playmakers would be retained. The former Rams and University of Kentucky offensive coordinator talked about how much easier it is to design an offense with a downfield, perimeter threat like Evans, and Coen also mentioned that he plans to move Godwin back to the slot as his primary alignment. A franchise tag for Evans would cost $28.4 million -- 120 percent of his 2023 cap charge -- while Mayfield's tag number likely would be around $35 million. The Buccaneers have a third candidate for the tag in 25-year-old safety Antoine Winfield, whose salary would be about $17 million. Re-signing Evans first would help the team's short-term cap flexibility, allowing the Buccaneers to shift much of his $12.2 million cap hit from void years into future seasons.

Dell (leg) started light pool work in January, and doctors have been pleased by the wide receiver's progress during rehab thus far, Will Kunkel of FOX 26 Houston reports.

Kunkel notes that Dell is still a long ways away from being in game shape and wouldn't have any shot to play if the Texans had advanced to the Super Bowl. The third-round pick suffered a broken fibula Week 13, following four consecutive games with at least eight targets, 50 yards and one touchdown. Dell finished his rookie season averaging 4.3 catches for 54.5 yards and 0.64 touchdowns per game, despite exiting two games early with injuries and playing only 48 percent of snaps on offense Week 1. Not counting those three games, Dell averaged 5.1 catches for 77.3 yards and 0.88 touchdowns on 8.5 targets. The Texans haven't passed along much information regarding Dell's rehab since he had surgery Dec. 4, but Kunkel's report at least suggests the wideout is coming along well in his recovery. The Houston offense appears in good hands moving forward with C.J. Stroud throwing passes to Dell and fellow 2023 breakout star receiver Nico Collins.

Bourne recently said that he's ahead of schedule in his rehab from knee surgery and would like to re-sign with the Patriots this offseason, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

The 28-year-old suffered an ACL tear to his right knee in Week 8, bringing an early end to a season in which he was averaging career bests of 4.6 catches and 50.8 receiving yards per game. Bourne is now scheduled for unrestricted free agency in March, and while he hopes to stay in New England under a new coaching staff, he acknowledged that he's not actually sure what the future will hold. He has a physical therapist living with him as part of his rehab process after Nov. 15 surgery, hoping to strengthen the quad and leg around his injured knee. Ben Volin of The Boston Globe adds that Bourne is in Las Vegas for the Super Bowl, with the wideout noting Tuesday that his rehab is going well and that he hopes to "get [his] name out there" for potential suitors in free agency.

Sherfield caught 11 of 22 targets for 86 yards and one touchdown while playing in all 17 regular-season games in 2023.

Sherfield had one big prime-time moment during the division-clinching win over the Dolphins in Week 18, which just so happened to come against his former team. Other than that, he didn't have many opportunities come his way since the Bills had several superior options at wide receiver, tight end and running back. Sherfield was on a one-year deal, but with fellow wideout Gabe Davis a good bet to move on in free agency, the Bills may try to bring Sherfield back on a similar contract.

The Cardinals signed Chisena to a reserve/future contract Tuesday, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN reports.

Chisena will return to Arizona after filling a special-teams role with Baltimore during the playoffs. He spent time on both the Cardinals' active roster and practice squad during the regular season before being released in January. The 26-year-old wideout will compete for a roster spot in 2024.