NFL Player News

Slayton (thumb) is expected to open the season as a starting wideout opposite rookie first-round pick Malik Nabers, Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports.

Slayton refused to report to voluntary offseason workouts, as he's entering the final season of a two-year contract and is seeking an extension. The Giants, however, haven't budged, and the team used the sixth overall pick in last week's draft to take Nabers after using a third-round pick on Jalin Hyatt in 2023. While Slayton is the favorite to open the summer as a starter on the outside, the team likely hopes Hyatt can push the veteran for snaps and targets in his second season. Nabers is the most talented receiver of the lot and could quickly prove to be the No. 1 option in the passing game.

Hyatt is expected to be the Giants' top backup wide receiver in 2024 following the team's selection of Malik Nabers with the No. 6 overall pick in last week's draft, Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports.

Hyatt injured his hamstring in the season finale against the Eagles, but he's presumably made a full recovery by now. He's coming off a rookie season in which he secured 23 of 40 targets for 373 scoreless yards over 17 games. He averaged a strong 16.2 yards per catch, but the number of catchable passes thrown his way were few and far between as a downfield threat. Darius Slayton is expected to open the season as a starter opposite Nabers, with Wan'Dale Robinson in the slot. The Giants would likely prefer to see Hyatt push Slayton for snaps.

Dulin, who tore his ACL during training camp last season, said Wednesday that he still doesn't have a timetable for his return to full football activities, James Boyd of The Athletic reports.

Dulin is feeling good and doing work on the field, which at least notes that he's making progress on some level in his recovery from knee surgery. The 26-year-old probably would have operated as the team's No. 4 wideout had he been healthy in 2023, and he'll likely be competing for the same role in 2024 once he's back to 100 percent.

Palmer and rookie third-round pick Jalen McMillan are the top candidates for Tampa Bay's No. 3 receiver job, Joshua Queipo of PewterReport.com reports.

Palmer, a 2023 sixth-round pick, held the role for nearly all of his rookie season, though he was perhaps miscast in the slot. New offensive coordinator Liam Coen said he wants to put Chris Godwin back in the slot as his primary alignment, which means the team's No. 3 receiver this upcoming season likely will play a majority of his snaps outside. While that's perhaps good news for Palmer given his speed (4.33-second 40-yard dash time at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine) wheels, McMillan has decent speed in his own right (4.47-second 40-yard dash time) and is slightly taller and heavier (6-foot-1 and 197 pounds) than Palmer (six-foot, 192). There's also the matter of Palmer being a much later draft pick and then struggling with his opportunities as a rookie; he caught just 57.4 percent of his 68 targets and averaged 9.9 yards per catch.

Brown (heel) and first-round pick Xavier Worthy are the main new faces in Kansas City's revamped receiving corps, Jacob Sloan of FOX 4 Kansas City reports.

A lot has happened since Brown signed a one-year, $7 million contract in mid-March, starting with fellow Chiefs wideout Rashee Rice being involved in a hit-and-run accident that's led to criminal charges. Rice will likely face a suspension at some point, and his potential absence leaves Brown, Justin Watson and Kadarius Toney as the top veteran wide receivers. Worthy may be talented enough to jet to the front of that group, coming in as a first-round pick after setting the NFL Scouting Combine record with a 4.21-second 40-yard dash time. He'll be one of the few players in the league faster than Brown, albeit with similar questions about his size (5-foot-11, 165 pounds) and how that affects the rookie's transition to the NFL. As for Brown, there's been nothing reported this offseason on the heel injury that ended his 2023 season in Arizona after Week 15. He'll likely be available for offseason practices and is expected to line up with the first-team offense.

Davis looks to have a top-three role at receiver to open the 2024 season after the Jaguars released Zay Jones on Tuesday, Demetrius Harvey of The Florida Times-Union reports.

With both Jones and Calvin Ridley -- who led the team with 1,016 receiving yards last season -- no longer on the roster, Christian Kirk, Davis and first-round pick Brian Thomas represent the clear starters in the position group, while Parker Washington, Tim Jones, Devin Duvernay and Elijah Cooks are on hand as depth options. While with the Bills in 2023, Davis recorded 45 catches (on 81 targets) for 746 yards and seven touchdowns in 17 regular-season outings. In his new locale, the 25-year-old's fantasy upside hinges largely on what sort of volume he sees relative to the promising Thomas, who was viewed by most as the No. 4 wideout prospect available in last week's draft.

Samuel wasn't traded during the 2024 NFL Draft and now seems likely to stay with the 49ers for at least one more season, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

The 49ers selected receivers in the first round (Ricky Pearsall) and fourth round (Jacob Cowing), and while they reportedly fielded trade offers for both Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, nothing ever came to fruition. The receiver group now appears likely to undergo significant changes next offseason, at which point Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings are scheduled for unrestricted free agency and Samuel will have just one year remaining on his contract (with no guaranteed money). A contract extension for Aiyuk in the coming weeks or months would further increase speculation about Samuel eventually being the odd man out.

Shakir gained competition for snaps and targets after the Bills took Keon Coleman out of Florida State with the first pick of the second round Friday.

This may not end up being a terrible thing for Shakir's 2024 outlook, as it was doubtful the Bills were going to enter the season with such a thin wideout crew, and a big target like Coleman could draw defensive attention away from Shakir. The latter is coming off a 39-611-2 season in 17 regular-season games, but with Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis off to new locales, Shakir has room to grow his production in his third NFL season. For now, he and Coleman project as starters, while Curtis Samuel is more of a hybrid No. 3.

The Cardinals waived Davis on Tuesday, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports.

Davis spent most of the 2023 season on Arizona's practice squad. The Cardinals drafted a pair of wideouts in last week's NFL Draft, so Davis will look for work elsewhere.

White signed a contract with the Jaguars on Tuesday.

White notched 34 catches along with 519 yards and six touchdowns during his senior campaign with Western Carolina. He'll now head to training camp with Jacksonville and try to carve out a role in their wide receiver room.