NFL Player News

Austin is competing to serve as the Steelers' slot receiver during OTAs, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic reports.

Austin missed his entire rookie campaign due to a foot injury, but he appears to be healthy this spring. The Steelers acquired Allen Robinson earlier in the offseason, but Austin still appears to be firmly in the mix for the team's slot role ahead of the 2023 season. The 24-year-old topped 1,000 receiving yards in his final two collegiate seasons at Memphis, totaling 137 receptions for 2,202 yards and 19 touchdowns during that time.

Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears indicated that Montgomery, who was limited to one game last season due to a shoulder injury, has moved past the issue, ESPN's Mike Reiss reports.

Prior to suffering his injury in the team's 2022 season opener, Montgomery appeared poised to handle a third-down role behind Rhamondre Stevenson and Damien Harris (who's now with the Bills). Now that he's healthy again, Montgomery will have a chance to compete for a change-of-pace role behind Stevenson, while James Robinson, Pierre Strong, Kevin Harris and J.J. Taylor also are in the mix to handle complementary backfield touches. If the versatile Montgomery emerges as a key third-down option, a role Fears believes that the 30-year-old has a chance to claim, the 6-foot, 216-pounder could merit fantasy attention in deeper PPR formats this coming season.

Arcega-Whiteside and the Falcons agreed on a contract Monday, Tori McElhaney of the team's official site reports.

Arcega-Whiteside spent the majority of the 2022 campaign on Seattle's practice squad, but he failed to appear in a game before being let go in November. The wide receiver last appeared in a contest in 2021 with Philadelphia, catching two passes for 36 yards over 16 games that season. He will now attempt to crack Atlanta's practice squad and potentially their active roster to open 2023.

Pittman recently told reporters he isn't worried about his contract and is letting his agent handle extension talks, Zak Keefer of The Athletic reports. "If it doesn't happen this year, that's no big deal," Pittman said. "It'll happen eventually, right?"

The 2020 second-round pick doesn't seem to have a holdout in mind for his contract year after a disappointing 2022 for both him personally and the Indianapolis offense as a whole. The team now has a new coaching staff and two new QBs, with Gardner Minshew and fourth overall pick Anthony Richardson expected to compete for the Week 1 start. Pittman drew 60 more targets than any of his teammates in 2021 (129) and 50 more in 2022 (141), making him a huge favorite to lead the Colts in receiving again after the team's most notable offseason additions at WR were a rookie third-round pick (Josh Downs) and a 28-year-old who got less than $500,000 guaranteed on his contract (Isaiah McKenzie). The Colts also parted ways with Parris Campbell, who finished second on the team in targets and receiving last year and whose presence may have blocked Pittman from getting more slot snaps.

Toure may end up competing with rookie Jayden Reed for Green Bay's No. 3 receiver job in offseason workouts and training camp, Matt Schneidman of the Athletic reports.

Toure was a seventh-round pick last season and stuck with the Packers, but he saw only 112 snaps and 10 targets in 11 games while fellow rookies Christian Watson (second round) and Romeo Doubs (fourth round) both enjoyed extended runs as starters. Those two are back with quarterback Jordan Love under center in 2023, while 2022 team target leader Allen Lazard and long-time slot man Randall Cobb are off in New York with Aaron Rodgers. It all adds up to a nice opportunity for the 25-year-old Toure, who nonetheless looks like the underdog in a hypothetical competition against Reed, an incoming second-round pick who is seemingly a more natural fit in the slot.

Gallup (knee/ankle) said Wednesday that he feels "springy again" after dealing with knee soreness for much of last season, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.

His recovery from arthroscopic knee and ankle procedures in January unsurprisingly was much easier than his rehab from surgery to repair a torn ACL the preceding February. Gallup made it back on the field less than eight months after his major surgery last year, missing only the first three games before suiting up for 16 in a row (including playoffs). The 27-year-old seems to be healthy now and should improve on his 2022 career-low averages of 30.3 yards per game and 5.7 yards per target, but Gallup doesn't project for much volume as the likely third option at wideout after the Cowboys traded for Brandin Cooks in the offseason. Dallas also brought in an offensive coordinator who is considered more run-focused than predecessor Kellen Moore, though the Cowboys' other offseason moves don't lend to the notion of a higher rush rate under new coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.

Hudson agreed to a contract with the Rams on Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Hudson is back with the Rams after being waived earlier in the week. The undrafted rookie out of Louisville caught 69 passes for 1,034 yards and two touchdowns in his final season of college football in 2022.

Jacksonville placed Moore (undisclosed) on injured reserve Wednesday.

Moore signed a reserve/future contract with the Jaguars following last season, but he's now set to miss the entire 2023 campaign unless he's able to reach an injury settlement. The undrafted wideout out of UT Martin has bounced around the league since 2020, but he's yet to appear in an NFL regular-season game.

Burks said Tuesday that he isn't having any problems with his breathing this spring, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports. "I would say I feel faster," Burks said. "Because I can breathe."

Burks was bothered by asthma last spring and ended up missing some of the offseason program just weeks after the Titans drafted him with the 18th overall pick. He then lost some weight and worked on his conditioning, and no further issues were reported during training camp or in-season. Burks missed four games with a toe injury and two due to a concussion, but he showed progress in between these two stints with 20 targets and 205 yards over a three-game stretch (Weeks 10 through 12) before he hit his head on the ground while making his lone touchdown catch of the season in the first quarter of a Week 13 loss. After missing the rest of that game and two others, Burks returned to an offense using Malik Willis and Joshua Dobbs under center. The Titans now have both Burks and Tannehill healthy for their offseason program, and while the veteran signal-caller could be challenged by second-round pick Will Levis, the team didn't prioritize adding wideouts this offseason after releasing Robert Woods. Even if the run-first mentality is a given, the Titans will need something from their receiver group and seem to be counting on Burks for an awful lot.

The Steelers signed Butler on Tuesday.

Butler is a once-hyped former Cardinal who was taken in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He turned 27 years old Tuesday and is back in the NFL after a wildly successful run with the XFL's St. Louis BattleHawks this spring. Butler caught 51 balls for 599 yards and a league-best eight touchdowns. At 6-foot-5 and 227 pounds, Butler has size for days. He'll compete for a reserve role with Pittsburgh.