NFL Player News

Jenkins signed with the Steelers on Monday.

The wide receiver was waived from injured reserve with an injury settlement by the Jaguars before the 2023 season. He caught 27 passes for 404 yards and six touchdowns during his final season with LSU in 2022.

Wallis signed with the Patriots on Monday.

The free agent took part in the team's rookie minicamp last month. Wallis played four collegiate seasons at Randolph Macon and caught 41 passes for 1,189 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior in 2022. The 22-year-old will try to compete for a role on a wide receiver depth chart with no clear standouts.

Davis (knee) should be cleared for training camp, Zach Goodall of Jaguars Wire reports.

Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said Monday that he expects Davis and a fellow new addition, defensive lineman Arik Armstead (knee), to be ready for the start of training camp. The team signed Davis to a three-year, $39 million contract in March, shortly before losing Calvin Ridley to the Titans. Jacksonville then drafted WR Brian Thomas in the first round and released Zay Jones a few days later. Davis and Christian Kirk are locked in for top-three WR roles and large snap counts, while Thomas has a bit more to prove but could ultimately become Trevor Lawrence's favorite downfield target. Davis suffered a PCL sprain Week 18 last season, causing him to miss both of Buffalo's playoff games and now all of Jacksonville's spring practices.

Jefferson reached agreement with the Vikings on Monday on a four-year contract extension, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Schefter and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network both report Jefferson's deal as a four-year, $140 million contract with $110 million guaranteed, giving the wideout the new record for average annual value ($35 million) among non-quarterbacks. He'll turn 25 years old later this month and already has 5,899 career receiving yards, with his average of 98.3 per game easily being the all-time record (Calvin Johnson is second at 86.1). Jefferson will enter the 2024 season without Kirk Cousins as his quarterback for the first time, instead catching passes from 10th overall pick J.J. McCarthy and/or Sam Darnold.

Covey (knee) participated in the Eagles' offseason practice Thursday, per Glenn Erby of USA Today.

Covey had knee surgery in the offseason but appears to have recovered well given his ability to participate in the practice session. The 27-year-old is slated to work as Philadelphia's primary punt/kick returner in 2024 and should also see some limited work as a receiver in the team's passing game.

Olszewski appeared to hurt his foot and/or ankle during practice Thursday, Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports.

Olszewski slipped while making a cut during on-field workouts and left practice early. It's unclear at this point how serious the injury may be. Olszewski worked primarily as a punt returner last season and should get an opportunity to handle that role again in 2024, though newcomer Isaiah McKenzie is also a candidate to take on those duties.

Hodgins caught a lot of passes with the first-team offense last week but seems to be the odd man out now that Darius Slayton is at OTAs, Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports.

Slayton, Malik Nabers and Wan'Dale Robinson figure to be the top three wide receivers, leaving Hodgins to compete with Jalin Hyatt, Allen Robinson, Isaiah McKenzie and others for depth roles. It's hard to find a roster with more backup WRs that have starting experience in the NFL, but in Hodgins' case, he mostly got that opportunity because the Giants were so thin at his position the past two seasons. Now that they're in better shape -- at least at wide receiver -- he'll head to training camp without assurances of a Week 1 roster spot, after signing a one-year contract that includes only $325,000 guaranteed.

Coach Shane Steichen said Thursday that Mitchell is "making a lot of plays" at OTAs, Kevin Bowen of 107.5 the Fan reports.

It sounds like the rookie second-round pick is getting a lot of first-team reps, in part because top wide receiver Michael Pittman has been out with a minor knee injury. Wearing a No. 10 jersey to signify the number of WRs drafted before him this spring, Mitchell has taken advantage of the early opportunity by catching a number of passes from starting QB Anthony Richardson. Still, it's unclear if Mitchell will head into Week 1 as a depth/rotation receiver or if he'll immediately supplant Alec Pierce as a starter alongside Pittman and slot man Josh Downs. There's also the question of how different that role might look if/when Mitchell replaces Pierce, as the latter was targeted on just 10.2 percent of his routes last year -- easily the the lowest rate in the league among regular starters at wide receiver.

Slayton showed up to OTAs this week after the Giants added $650,000 of incentives to his contract, ESPN's Jordan Raanan reports.

The 27-year-old is entering the second season of a two-year, $12 million contract, and while he might have been hoping for an extension or additional guaranteed money, it seems he'll settle for the boosted incentives. Slayton has led the Giants in receiving yards in four of his five NFL seasons, topping 700 yards each time without ever getting to 800. He'll likely be one of the team's top three WRs in 2024, along with sixth overall pick Malik Nabers and slot man Wan'Dale Robinson. Of the three, Slayton is least likely to draw a large number of targets, as he's never seen passes on a large percentage of his routes even when playing a lot of snaps in offenses with subpar receiving alternatives.

Mims said things are going "a lot smoother" for him in his second NFL offseason, Nick Kosmider of The Athletic reports.

In addition to having a much better understanding of Sean Payton's offense, Mims mentioned that he's "as healthy as I've been in a long time." The 2023 second-round pick was limited by hamstring injuries last spring and summer, though that didn't stop him from having a big impact early in the season, including four receptions of 38 or more yards and a kick-return TD within the first four weeks. While Mims remained effective on special teams apart from a pair of lost fumbles, he had only 135 receiving yards on 22 targets in his 12 appearances after Week 4. The NFL's new kickoff rules figure to make Mims even more important for Denver's special teams this year, and he should also be part of a competition for the No. 2 receiver job opposite Courtland Sutton. If not Mims, it'll likely be Josh Reynolds, Troy Franklin or Tim Patrick (Achilles) stepping up as the No. 2 receiver, though a rotation also is possible.