NFL Player News

Evan is unlikely to play in Saturday's preseason game versus the Titans, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Bruce Arians doesn't anticipate any of the starters taking part, but Tom Brady was the only player named by the coach. In any case, we can assume that includes the likes of Evans, Chris Godwin and Rob Gronkowski, who all, like Brady, played only six offensive snaps on the first drive of the Bucs' exhibition opener this past Saturday.

The 49ers are placing Watkins (foot) on injured reserve, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Watkins is expected to be sidelined for 6-to-8 weeks with a broken foot. He will now either spend the remainder of the season on IR or come to terms on an injury settlement with the team once his health is up to par.

Proehl (leg) was waived/injured by the Vikings on Monday.

Proehl was carted off the practice field last week with a leg injury, and he's now lost his spot on Minnesota's roster. The 22-year-old will revert to the team's injured reserve if he goes through waivers unclaimed.

Williams (hip) won't participate in practice this week, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports.

Williams had an early exit from practice last Wednesday and hasn't seen any drills in the meantime, with what coach Brandon Staley has termed a hip flexor. With no on-field reps imminent for Williams, he seems poised to miss a second straight exhibition game Sunday against the 49ers. In fact, it may be tough for him to see any preseason action at all until he gets back on the practice field.

Cooper (ankle) is in pads during Monday's Cowboys Night practice, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.

Cooper opened training camp on the PUP list, the result of residual irritation from January ankle surgery. The Cowboys activated him last Tuesday, but Monday's session marked the first time he donned pads this summer. Per Jon Machota of The Athletic, Cooper proceeded to take part in individual drills, but it's very likely that he's easing into action to avoid any sort of setback.

Cephus (head) returned to practice Monday, Chris Burke of The Athletic reports.

Cephus was away from the field for more than a week due to a head injury suffered in practice Aug. 7. As a result, he missed Friday's exhibition opener against the Bills. In his return, Cephus caught a touchdown during a 7-on-7 drill in the red zone and will look to make an impression as part of a receiving corps that's currently down Breshad Perriman (hip) and Kalif Raymond (undisclosed).

Jefferson (shoulder) participated in some team drills at Monday's practice, Eric Smith of the Vikings' official site reports.

Jefferson appears to have been limited in his return to practice, but in any case it's encouraging to see him back on the field handling team reps. The second-year pro sprained the AC joint in his left shoulder Aug. 6, but coach Mike Zimmer downplayed the severity of Jefferson's injury from the beginning. The timing of Jefferson's return to practice will provide him just under a month's time to ramp up his workload before Week 1. Of course, if Jefferson isn't back at full speed by the time Saturday's exhibition matchup against the Colts kicks off, the Vikings could opt to delay his preseason debut.

Hodgins missed Monday's practice due to a knee injury suffered in Friday's preseason win over Detroit, Maddy Glab of the Bills' official site reports.

While we'll see if the second-year man can get some work in ahead of the second preseason game Saturday, any missed time could prove costly since there's a pretty close battle going on ahead of the season for the last 1-to-2 spots in the receiving corps.

Coach Sean Payton said Thomas (ankle) is ahead of schedule in his rehab from June surgery, Luke Johnson of The Times-Picayune reports.

Thomas attended the Saints' preseason opener Saturday in Baltimore, the first time reporters had seen him with the team since June minicamp. It's been an interesting summer between the delayed surgery, cryptic tweets and trade rumors, but Thomas does seem to be doing well with his rehab and at least has maintained a working relationship with the Saints for the time being. He'll still miss the early part of the regular season, with most reports earlier this summer putting his timeline at around four months.

The Chargers cut Bandy on Monday, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports.

Bandy has yet to make his NFL debut since going undrafted back in 2019. Now that the Chargers have opted to move on, Bandy will need to look for an opportunity elsewhere in the league.