NFL Player News

Samuel suffered a broken foot Tuesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Samuel picked up the injury during a throwing session in Nashville. According to Rapoport, Samuel underwent surgery with noted Dr. Robert Anderson and is expected to be healthy in 12-16 weeks. With such a timetable, he won't be available Week 1, but a midseason appearance seems likely.

Slayton said he feels healthy this offseason, after battling a nagging hamstring injury during his rookie campaign, NJ.com's Zack Rosenblatt reports.

The hamstring ailment sidelined Slayton for Weeks 1 and 2 but didn't seem to affect him thereafter. He quickly emerged as a downfield weapon in a part-time role, earning a starting job and heavy snap counts by mid-October. The fifth-round pick ultimately averaged 50.1 snaps and 6.0 targets over 14 games, despite making an early exit from Week 16 with a minor knee injury. Slayton rejoined the lineup Week 17 and finished the year as Big Blue's leader in receiving yards (740) and touchdowns (eight). He's met with Daniel Jones on multiple occasions this offseason, hoping to improve the chemistry as both players prepare for their second pro season.

Browns wide receivers coach Chad O'Shea relayed Wednesday that Beckham (abdomen) has made "a lot of progress" in his recovery from January surgeries but is unsure where the wide receiver will be at the start of training camp, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Despite playing all 16 games last season, Beckham was hamstrung by a sports hernia from the third week of training camp onward, eventually finishing with 74 catches (on 133 targets) for 1,035 yards and four touchdowns. While those numbers are fair enough at first glance, he averaged a career-worst 64.7 yards per game. By the end of the year, Beckham had a torn abductor and torn rectus abdominis, which were addressed via procedures. In 2020, he'll be working under a new coaching staff for the third time in as many seasons, with Kevin Stefanski leading the way.

Coach Doug Pederson suggested Reagor will learn the Z receiver spot behind DeSean Jackson, with potential to earn slot snaps early on, Mike Kaye of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

The 21st overall pick may head to training camp as Jackson's backup, but there are a few different scenarios that could lead to a steady workload early in the season, even in an offense that figures to rank near the top of the league in usage of multi-TE formations. For starters, Jackson is 33 years old and has missed an average of 5.4 games the past five years, including four absences in 2018 and 13 more in 2019. Then there's the matter of 30-year-old Alshon Jeffery returning from a Lisfranc surgery he had in December, with no assurance of being ready for Week 1. Granted, Reagor does have some other competition for playing time, namely Greg Ward, Marquise Goodwin and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, plus Day 3 drat picks John Hightower and Quez Watkins.

Duvernay and fellow Ravens rookie James Proche have been catching passes from Robert Griffin while training in Texas with wideout specialist David Robinson, Todd Karpovich of SI.com reports.

Robinson is a popular offseason trainer among NFL wide receivers, working with Dez Bryant, Jakeem Grant and Jerry Jeudy, among others. Robinson believes both Duvernay (a third-round pick) and Proche (a sixth-rounder) are capable of earning significant roles for the Ravens, noting that the former should be useful on deep throws, screens and jet sweeps, while the latter has superior hands that could make him a reliable possession target. Duvernay primarily worked from the slot at the University of Texas, producing 412 receiving yards as a freshman and 546 as a junior before exploding for 1,386 and nine TDs in his senior season. A 4.39 40 time further boosted his draft stock, though he's one of the older prospects in his class, turning 23 in September.

Aiyuk (abdomen) has been medically cleared, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The 49ers made Aiyuk the 25th pick of the 2020 draft less than three weeks after he had core muscle surgery. He seems to have made a quick recovery, as he's already working out with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and other teammates at San Jose State. The rookie should be ready for the start of training camp later this summer, hoping to earn a starting job across from Deebo Samuel at wide receiver.

Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll cited Hodgins' size as an asset this week as something the team hopes to put to good use this season, Maddy Glab of the Bills' official site reports. "They're bigger guys, size guys," Daboll said in reference to Hodgins and fellow rookie Gabriel Davis. "Both the type of men they are and really the type of player, tough physical guys that have good ball skills, are not afraid and provide us a little bit of size."

The team's top three receiving spots are spoken for between Stefon Diggs, John Brown and Cole Beasley, but beyond that, the No. 4 role is completely up for grabs. Hodgins is slightly taller than fellow rookie Davis, but he was also drafted two rounds later. He'll get a fair shot at a roster spot, though this is a receiving corps that runs pretty deep. Just because he's slightly taller than most, at minimum Hodgins will have to beat out at least one of his taller teammates in Davis and Duke Williams, and maybe both. Given the short learning period in this pandemic year, Hodgins' upside seems to be a final roster spot, though at worst there's room on the practice squad for a guy with his upside.

Davis (shoulder) has been waived by the Chiefs with a non-football injury designation, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Davis spent his rookie season on injured reserve due to a shoulder injury. It is unclear if he aggravated the injury during the offseason in any way. The 23-year-old will need to get his health back up to par before he has any chance of returning to the field.

Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll cited Davis' size as an asset this week as something the team hopes to put to good use this season, Maddy Glab of the Bills' official site reports. "They're bigger guys, size guys," Daboll said in reference to Davis and fellow rookie Isaiah Hodgins. "Both the type of men they are and really the type of player, tough physical guys that have good ball skills, are not afraid and provide us a little bit of size."

The team's top three receiving spots are spoken for between Stefon Diggs, John Brown and Cole Beasley, but beyond that, the No. 4 role is completely up for grabs. Davis was considered a nice snag in the fourth round and seems to be impressing the team's coaching staff with his habits, as much as a new player is able to do in a virtual setting. He'll have a good shot at snagging that role while competing with Isaiah McKenzie, Duke Williams, Robert Foster, Hodgins and others, though a full camp around the pandemic issues would certainly benefit the two rookies more than their more experienced teammates.

Lamb could be used as the Cowboys' primary punt returner in addition to his duties on offense, Nick Eatman of DallasCowboys.com reports.

Dallas hasn't had a player return a punt for a touchdown since 2017 and didn't have a single punt return over 15 yards last season, so the door is wide open for Lamb to seize the job. The rookie receiver had three returns of 40-plus yards during his college career and an 8.8 yard average on punt returns, and his elusiveness in the open field could make him a weapon on new coach John Fassel's special teams unit.